Team Rin
by Dreyden
Summary: We all know the story of Naruto on Team 7, but what if he was trained under a different Sensei? With different teammates? How would Naruto have developed under Rin, Kakashi's forgotten teammate? For better or for worse, different experiences will lead to a different Naruto.
1. The S Class Secret

**Summary: We all know the story of Naruto on Team 7, but what if he was trained under a different Sensei? With different teammates? How would Naruto have developed under Rin, Kakashi's forgotten teammate? For better or for worse, different experiences will lead to a different Naruto.**

**A/N: AU based off the idea that two specific things are changed before canon events begins. One: Kakashi's teammate, Rin, is not dead. Two: Iruka has a heart to heart with Naruto a month before the graduation exams. These changes will butterfly into a (hopefully) worthwhile story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I profit from this work. I'm merely using it as an exercise to improve my writing and for my own and others enjoyment.**

* * *

**Team Rin  
****  
****Chapter 01**

** The S-Class Secret  
**

* * *

Naruto held his breath in anticipation as his sensei walked into the classroom. Iruka gave the class his usual greeting, and sat at his desk. Naruto smothered a snicker while Iruka shuffled with some papers.

"Alright everyone, your graduation exam is only a month away." He began to stand and Naruto grinned in anticipation. "I thought it would be best to—" Iruka yelped as he crashed to the ground with his chair stuck to him. The class erupted into laughter as Iruka struggled to detach himself from his seat.

_That was great! Operation Glue Iruka to his chair successful,_ Naruto thought with a snicker. Iruka disentangled himself from the chair and glared around the classroom with a faint blush. Everyone quieted down under his gaze, and he searched each face in turn. He made it to Naruto, who adapted his best innocent look, but felt a bit of sweat form on his head. The Chūnin's eye twitched and Naruto knew he had been made.

"Naruto, stay after class." The rest of the class laughed at his expense and Naruto slumped in defeat. "Now, as I was saying…"

* * *

The rest of the day went by in a typical manner, Iruka thought. It was an added bonus that Naruto was much more subdued after being called out on his prank. The blonde boy was now sitting in front of him, grinning and rubbing the back of his neck.

"What'll it be this time Iruka-sensei? Mopping the floors or cleaning the blackboards?" Iruka sighed at Naruto's nonchalant tone. He was familiar with all the usual punishments, but Naruto still acted out, and was almost never serious. Iruka recalled another academy student that always used trouble and jokes to get people to pay attention to him. The difference was that Iruka grew out of it, and he doubted that Naruto would. "Sensei?" Iruka snapped away from his musings.

"Naruto…" His time as Naruto's sensei was coming to an end, and if the usual punishments never worked, then perhaps it was time to try a different approach. "Why do you want to be a ninja?" Naruto looked taken aback by the question.

"Because I'm going to be Hokage someday!" He said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Iruka nodded, having heard his student shout his dream many times before.

"How?" Naruto gave him a blank look at the simple question. "How are you going to become Hokage?"

"I'm going to be the strongest ninja Konoha has ever seen, dattebayo!" Naruto declared with a grin. "Then everyone will have to acknowledge me as Hokage." His reasoning was flawed, but Iruka latched onto his opening.

"Naruto." He made sure his tone was serious and he had the boy's complete attention. "How can you be the strongest ninja if you never pay attention in class?"Naruto scoffed at the accusation and Iruka felt himself twitch in annoyance.

"Come on Sensei. Who needs to know all the stuff you talk about in class to be a ninja?" Naruto whined, holding his arms behind his head and leaning back in his chair. Iruka forced himself to remain calm.

"What is a ninja's best weapon, Naruto?" Naruto scratched his cheek in thought.

"Er, strong jutsu?" Iruka pinched the bridge of his scarred nose and counted to ten. This was the biggest lesson he tried to drive home to his students.

"Their best weapon is their mind, Naruto." His student's brow furrowed, and Iruka had the fleeting hope that he had gotten through to him.

"I don't get it." Iruka's head met his desk with a dull thump.

"Let me put it this way then," Iruka said after a moment to recover. "What is the Sandaime Hokage's nickname?"

"The Professor?" Iruka smiled and nodded. So maybe Naruto did pay attention sometimes.

"Right, and why is he called that?

"Because he knows a bunch of really strong jutsu!" Naruto declared with a grin. "I was right, Sensei. You need strong jutsu to be a strong ninja."

"That's not the point," Iruka said with a sigh. "How do you think Sandaime-sama learned all of those jutsu then?"  
"Er…by training?"

"You're half right. Hokage-sama became so powerful because he trained and _studied _his ass off." Naruto looked thoughtful and Iruka plowed on. "At one point, though, Hokage-sama was exactly where you are now." Naruto started to grin and give thumbs up, but Iruka was not finished. "The difference is, though, that the Hokage actually applied himself into mastering the basics and not pulling useless pranks so people would pay attention to him." Naruto's face fell, and Iruka felt a spark of guilt. He ignored it and drove his point home.

"Without mastering the basics, the Sandaime would never have become as powerful as he is. The same goes for every other Hokage as well." Iruka braced himself for the finishing blow. "As of right now, it's unlikely you will even graduate, let alone have a chance to ever get close to their level." Naruto's head snapped back up, betrayal, anger, defiance, and unshed tears alight in his blue eyes. That look hurt Iruka deeply, but years of training kept his face neutral.

"I'm telling you this," he said before Naruto could start ranting at him. "Because I believe you have it in you to be great, Naruto." The dark emotions that were playing on Naruto's face disappeared and were replaced by a look of utter shock.

"You…believe in me?" Iruka was taken aback by how _fragile_ Naruto's voice sounded. Maybe he went a bit too far in his rant…

"Of course I do!" Iruka said with a wide grin. "You just have to apply yourself and master the basics in time to graduate, and then the sky's the limit!" Naruto stood with great vigor.

"You got it Iruka-sensei! I'll get the basics down better than anyone else, dattebayo!" His student's attitude was infectious and Iruka felt himself wear a wide smile of his own. Naruto gave a cheerful wave and shot out the door. Iruka could only hope that his lecture had actually sunken in, but only time would tell.

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed on his pipe as he sifted through the day's pile of papers. It was one of the busiest times of year as far as the damned paperwork was concerned. The newest class of genin would graduate from the academy later this week, and it fell to him to recruit Jōnin to instruct them. This particular class had the heirs to seven of Konoha's most prominent clans, and had far more potential than the average batch of rookies. It did an old man's heart well when the next generations showed such promise.

"Hokage-sama, your appointment is here," his assistant called from the other room. _Speaking of…_ Hiruzen thought.

"Send her in!" He settled back into his comfortable leather chair as his guest entered the office.

"You wanted to see me Hokage-sama?" Hiruzen frowned. She sounded as exhausted as she looked. He gestured for her to sit, and settled himself in for a long conversation.

"How are things, Rin?" His chief med-nin gave him a curious glance.

"As I said in my report last week, Hokage-sama," she said after a pregnant pause. "Everything at the Hospital is running at peak efficiency. Our med-nin ranks have not been this full since the days of Tsunade-sama, and it's only looking up." Hiruzen sighed and placed his pipe down. In her time as Chief Medical Ninja, Rin had indeed gotten the hospital system running at pre-war efficiency, but that was not why she was here.

"You are doing a remarkable job, Rin." She put on a small, genuine smile at that. There was no doubt that she took pride in her work. "But I should be more specific. I meant to ask how things are with _you_." Her smile dropped and she turned her eyes away.

"Everything is just fine, Hokage-sama." Hiruzen studied her for a long moment. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, and bags were forming under her exhausted brown eyes. If he did not know any better, he would say that the purple, rectangular markings on the lower half of her cheeks were a darker shade than normal as well.

Under normal circumstances, he would be inclined to let his Jōnin deal with their inner demons on their own terms, but there was always an exception or two. Especially when others reported their own concerns.

"Rin, you have not been out of the village in the three years since you earned your new position. I have been told that, in that time, you have gradually cut yourself off from your peers."

"I've been busy running a hospital," she retorted with a heated gaze.

"That may be, but some of your colleagues have come to me in concern for you." Rin palmed her forehead.

"Kakashi," was her simple response. Hiruzen sighed. Those two had not spoken in years, from what he could figure out.

"I will not name names, but I will say that it has been more than one person." She grumbled something unintelligible. "So I have come to a decision." She gave him an apprehensive look. "You will take the lead on one of the rookie genin teams as their Jōnin commander."

"What?" He winced at her sudden, high pitched tone. "Am I being fired? I'm not qualified to teach anyone, Hokage-sama! I don't think—." He cut off her tirade with a raised hand. He held back a smirk at that. Being Hokage did have its advantages.

"I'm afraid this is an order, Rin. Iyasu-san will take over as interim-Chief Medical Ninja in the meantime. The position will be there for you should you want to return after your Genin team has run its course." She sagged back into her seat, defeated. "I have the utmost faith that you'll make a wonderful Sensei, Rin," he said with a calming smile. It did nothing to calm Rin.

"Can I at least see a list of students?" Hiruzen handed over the sheet he had been studying when she arrived. She scanned the list and he waited for her to come across a specific name. Her quiet gasp put a smirk on his face.

"If I'm going to do this," she said after a moment. "I want Sensei's son." Hiruzen nodded his ascent. There was already one pre-arranged placement with Uchiha Sasuke and Kakashi. He saw no harm in adding another.

"Should he pass the graduate exam, Uzumaki Naruto will be a member of your genin team." He was pleased to see her smile; albeit a small one. "Now, I'm sure you have a good deal of preparations to make for this transition." Rin nodded in agreement and took her leave with a bow. "And Rin," Hiruzen called to her just as she reached the door. "My office is always open to my ninja, for whatever reason." She nodded and left.

Hiruzen lit a freshly packed pipe moments later, and sighed in contentment. In his experience, there was nothing more rewarding than teaching. He could only hope that the experience brought Rin out of whatever hole she had been in for the past three years.

* * *

"Damn it!" Naruto cursed as _another_ leaf exploded in his hand. He had been at this exercise for _weeks_, and he still could not get it down. He knew for a fact that the rest of the class could easily do the chakra control exercise, so why could he not get it down. With a growl he picked up another leaf and breathed deep. Focus on your chakra, guide it to your hand and into the leaf so it stuck, and… Gah!

"Stupid leaves!" He shouted, shaking his singed hand. The last few weeks had been a flurry of books, scrolls, and burned leaves for him. The day after his talk with Iruka-sensei, Naruto had sheepishly returned to the teacher for advice on _how_ exactly was he supposed to get better. The Chūnin had provided him a lesson plan given that there was only a month's time to improve.

With his taijutsu already passable, the Kawarimi and Henge mastered, Naruto only had to work on his general knowledge and the Bunshin. Needless to say, he spent most of his days buried in books until he was ready to snap, or attempting the basic chakra control exercise with little success. Iruka always told him he used too much chakra, and that was why he could not do the Bunshin, but he still had not figured out how to use less chakra. With graduation tomorrow, he was actually starting to think he couldn't do it.

"Hey! Naruto! Surprised to see you here at this hour." The blonde turned and found his white haired sensei approaching him with a comforting grin on his face.

"Eh? Mizuki-sensei?" Naruto used the Academy's training grounds, but there was almost never anyone around after hours. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, just checking on a few things," he said, eyes crinkled in his smile. "Are you ready for the exam tomorrow?" Naruto hung his head, downcast.

"I'm trying to get this chakra control stuff down, but I don't think I'll do it in time."

"Hm…" Mizuki-sensei tapped his chin in thought. He looked Naruto up and down, giving the boy the creeps. "I probably shouldn't tell you this…"

"Tell me what, Mizuki-sensei?" He asked, unable to help his curiosity.

"Well, if you are going to be Hokage someday, I suppose it would be great if you owed me one. Alright I'll tell you about the secret test!" He declared with a wide grin.

"Secret test?"

"Yup. We only ever offer it to the very best students, since it's so dangerous." Naruto was practically drooling at the prospect. "If you pass, you become a Genin straight away without having to take the Academy exam!" Naruto perked up in excitement. If he could pass the test without having to do a Bunshin he would never have to worry about chakra control again! "Interested?" Naruto nodded fervently.

"There's a special scroll in the Hokage tower reserved for this test," he explained. Mizuki produced the plans for the tower and rolled it out on the ground. He pointed to a location marked with a red "X" nearby the old man Hokage's office. "You get into this room, and it'll be on a pedestal. You can't miss it."

"What's on the scroll, Mizuki-sensei?" He asked, heart racing in excitement. He was going to be the first one in the class to go on an actual mission! _Take that, Sasuke-teme._

"That's the best part," he replied with a grin. "It's full of special jutsu available to only those strong enough to pass the test." Naruto's eyes lit up at the possibilities.

"All you have to do is get the scroll, and meet me at training ground twenty-nine by ten o'clock. Think you can handle that?" Naruto gave an emphatic nod. "Good. I'm sort of doing this behind Iruka-sensei's back since he didn't think you could do it. So let's both prove him wrong, eh?" Naruto felt a quick burst of betrayal followed by fierce determination. Had Iruka-sensei been lying when he said he believed in him? If he was, Naruto would prove him wrong so he would have to acknowledge the blonde's skill.

They all would.

"I won't let you down, Mizuki-sensei! Dattebayo!" He yelled and took off in the direction of Hokage Tower. He knew exactly how to get past the old man.

* * *

Rin was strolling through the streets of Konoha, thoughts locked on her conversation with the Hokage days before. It had come as a shock when the man confronted her with his unfounded concerns. She had worked her ass off to get Konoha's medical system in tip top shape, and was quite proud of that fact. She put in her all at work, and wanted nothing more than to keep to herself in her downtime.

It was apparently too much to ask for.

She shook her head with a sigh. It had to have been Kakashi that went to the Hokage. The man just could not figure out when someone wanted absolutely _nothing_ to do with him. She had told him such, and yet he kept coming back. And now he was responsible for taking away the one thing in the damned village she actually enjoyed.

She let out an irritable sigh when she recalled the conversation she had with Iyasu earlier that week. The panicky man was an absolute nervous wreck when he found out that he would be taking over her position for what could be _years_. Spending the entire week getting him up to speed with how she ran things had been a miserable and trying experience.

She turned her gaze to the distant Hokage Mountain as her thoughts turned to the first new assignment she had in years. Ever since she had been placed at the hospital almost the moment she became a Jōnin, she had taken no other missions. It would be weird to not be going there to work every day.

Not to mention the petrifying thought that _she_ would be responsible for the training of three young, impressionable Genin. Her eyes locked on the visage of her own late sensei, and her stomach dropped. The night the Kyūbi attacked would forever be locked in memories as the worst night of her life.

And she had had more than her fair share of bad nights.

Not only had Sensei died, but the hospital had been in the part of the village that the Kyūbi had leveled. Even with all the med-nin in the village working together, the death toll had been staggering. She felt the familiar ping of empty regret in her chest and forced herself to not look back. No good ever came of it.

The sudden commotion of three Chūnin racing along the rooftops drew her attention. She blinked at their unusual urgency, but passed it off. Ninjas running at top speed along Konoha's roofs were not an uncommon sight. As more heavy footsteps sounded on the roof above her, her curiosity peaked. At least three more teams of Chūnin were racing toward Hokage Tower. With practiced ease, she leapt to the roof and gave them chase. Her superior speed had her on level with one group of Chūnin within a minute.

"What's going on Chūnin-san?" She asked when she caught up with them. Their leader, a twenty-something-year-old that she vaguely recognized, answered her.

"Iryō-san?" Ah, so she must have treated him at the hospital at some point. "Hokage-sama has called an emergency gathering of all available Chūnin," he told her as they ran. "I don't know all the details, but it has to be something big." Rin absently nodded, and decided to tag along. If nothing else, it would serve as a distraction.

Within minutes they were at the base of the Hokage Tower, where dozens of other ninja were already gathered. Hokage-sama was gazing at the gathered group with a stern gaze and pipe held firm in a clenched draw. Whatever was happening, the Hokage looked truly upset.

"What has happened, Hokage-sama?" A man with the pale eyes of the Hyūga asked at length. The general murmuring died down as the Sandaime held himself straighter to address them.

"About one hour ago, Konoha's scroll of forbidden jutsu was stolen." Panicked murmurs broke out from the group and Rin felt her own eyes go wide. Some of the techniques that scroll had could spell disaster for Konoha if they fell into the wrong hands.

"Who could have done this?" The same Hyūga called out in despair. The Sandaime closed his eyes and slumped slightly.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Rin felt her heart skip a beat at the mention of Sensei's son even as many of her fellow shinobi cried out in rage. Hokage-sama stared at the ground, looking utterly dejected.

"What!" A Chūnin with a high, brown ponytail and a scarred nose shouted over the din. "Naruto would never do that, not even for a prank!"

"Nevertheless, he _has_, Iruka." Hokage-sama took a deep inhale on his pipe. "It is of the utmost importance that someone finds Naruto and brings him to me _alive_." The fact that he had to stress the last part irked Rin. "This will be considered a B-rank mission, and whomever brings Naruto back will be compensated accordingly."

That still left one question on Rin's mind. "How the hell did and _Academy student_ get his hands on the scroll in the first place?" She called out from the back before he could dismiss them. The slight blush that appeared on the Sandaime's face did nothing to end her confusion.

"What's done is done," he said. "You have your orders. Dismissed!" Rin frowned at the non-explanation. Nearly all of the Chūnin immediately took off in separate directions, but the lone defender of Naruto had a quick, hushed conversation with Hokage-sama before racing off. Rin narrowed her eyes and followed the scarred Chūnin. He clearly knew something the rest of their colleagues did not.

* * *

Mizuki could not help but wear a wide grin as he jumped through the forest. His plan had gone on without a hitch thus far. He had noticed the Kyūbi brat training outside the academy every day for the past month, and his plan had come to him in a moment of brilliance. If the kid had started training so hard to pass, then he would do _anything_ to make sure he graduated.

Including breaking into the Hokage Tower.

Mizuki chuckled at his own genius. Uzumaki would take everyone's attention, so nobody would notice him gone until after the Genin exams were over. It would be more than enough time to get far, far away from Hi no Kuni. All he had to do was get to the training ground, kill the brat, and hightail it out of there.

"Yatta! I did it! I'll pass the test for sure, dattebayo!" Mizuki rolled eyes and picked up his pace. The boy's voice could probably be heard for miles all around. He would have to do this quickly.

"Naruto! What the hell were you thinking!" Mizuki stopped short, hiding among the leaves.

"Shit," he muttered. That dumbass Iruka had beaten him to the training grounds, and was standing between Mizuki and the blonde. Between him and the scroll.

"Iruka-sensei, I passed the secret test! I even mastered a super strong jutsu, dattebayo!" Naruto declared with a laugh. Mizuki grimaced, knowing his cover was about to be blown.

"Secret test? What are you talking about, Naruto? Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in? You stole the Forbidden Jutsu Scroll!" Uzumaki's face fell in confusion.

"Eh? Trouble? Forbidden Jutsu Scroll?" He looked to the scroll he had stolen. "Mizuki-sensei said this was a secret graduation scroll." Mizuki could practically hear the gears turning in Iruka's head. Mizuki sighed, knowing he would have to kill his former friend as well.

"You're just mad that the kid pulled one over on you," he declared, stepping out from his cover. Both Iruka and the boy snapped their heads in his direction. He allowed himself a smirk.

"Hand over that scroll, Naruto, and you will pass." Naruto took a step forward, but Iruka shot out a hand to block him.

"There is no test! Naruto, Mizuki's tricked you. That scroll contains all of Konoha's secrets. Run back to the village and find the Hokage!"

"He's lying to you Naruto; he wants you to fail! Hand it over!" Mizuki snarled even as Naruto looked between the two, face shifting through emotions. After a moment of tense silence, he settled on determination.

"Iruka-sensei wouldn't lie to me!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "He's been trying to help me get stronger all month." Iruka grinned his insufferable grin and Mizuki let out a growl. Time for plan B.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, brat," he said, unsheathing his overlarge shuriken. "Haven't you ever wondered why everyone in this village treats you like crap?"

"Mizuki, don't—" Iruka tried to interrupt, but Mizuki spoke over him.

"It's an S-rank secret that the Hokage swore everyone to keep, but I think it's only fair you learned the truth." Naruto dropped his guard and Mizuki could see the desperate desire in his eyes. Iruka looked to Naruto in concern, and Mizuki saw his moment to strike. With a grunt, he launched the shuriken at the student, content in the knowledge that he had no time to dodge.

Just as Mizuki was expecting the satisfying sound of metal digging into flesh, a series of kunai came out of nowhere to knock his clear of Iruka, who had moved to shield Naruto. He looked around in a growing panic as yet another unforeseen problem interrupted his plan.

"Targeting a child is something only a coward would do," An angry, feminine voice declared. Mizuki snapped his attention in the direction of the voice, sweat blooming on his brow. The woman who had just saved Iruka's life was at the edge of the clearing. She stood firm, kunai in hand, and a look of distaste etched on her features. _Shit_, he thought, recognizing her as a Jōnin. Iruka stood as well, withdrawing a kunai of his own.

"Turn yourself over Mizuki. The Hokage will go easier on you if you do." Mizuki knew his chance at a clean getaway had gone up in smoke. He could take Iruka, but a Jōnin was way out of his league. He only had one chance. In a flash he pulled out and threw a smoke bomb to get some cover, and followed it up with a volley of shuriken at the Jōnin and Iruka.

"Naruto, protect the scroll!" Mizuki dropped down behind the student and reached for the scroll while the shinobi were distracted. A flash of orange beat him to it.

"Give me the scroll, brat!" He snarled as the smoke was starting to dissipate

"Come and get it, Mizuki-teme," Naruto said while flipping him off. Mizuki's eye twitched. He was going to _enjoy_ killing the brat. He reared back for a punch, but was bodily tackled before he could deliver the blow.

"Keep away from him!" If he was not being drilled into the ground, Mizuki would have rolled his eyes. Of course Iruka would resort to brawling tactics to keep him away from one his precious students. Mizuki leaned back into the blow, letting the momentum roll them over. As soon as he was beneath his fellow Chūnin, he kicked him away and into a nearby tree.

"Heh, weak," Mizuki muttered, rubbing his side where Iruka had hit him. With a frown, he noticed that Iruka was climbing to his feet already.

"**Chakura no Mesu (Chakra Scalpel).**" Mizuki turned and saw the Jōnin, whose hands were now glowing blue with chakra. "Leave him to me, Chūnin-san." He could hear Iruka take up a stance behind him. The blonde idiot jumped to his side, a one of the discarded kunai clutched in his hand. Surrounded, and with no options open, Mizuki did the only thing he could think of and launched his remaining weapons at the Genin only feet away.

He did not wait to see if anything struck, but turned and took off in the only open direction left. Iruka's cry of anguish echoed through forest, and Mizuki smirked. At least he did some damage before he had to run.

"Argh!" He shouted in pain as his legs gave out from under him. He fell from the canopy, hitting branches all the way down He screamed in agony when his arms met the ground and snapped under the force of his fall. Through tears of pain, Mizuki saw hands of blue.

"I've torn the muscles in your legs. You won't be going anywhere." Mizuki's last thought before the blackness took him was only the hope that he took the Kyūbi brat with him.

* * *

"And the status of the traitor?" The old man asked. Naruto, Iruka-sensei, and Rin, the Jōnin that had captured Mizuki, were in the Hokage's office for a debriefing. Normally being part of such an official shinobi activity would have left Naruto excited, but now he was only subdued.

"Unconscious, but alive Hokage-sama. I made sure the bastard would survive until Ibiki got his hands on him," Rin said with a grim tone.

"What will be done with him, Hokage-sama?" Iruka-sensei asked. Naruto wondered how Iruka managed to look so composed with his entire right upper body covered in fresh bandages. He had shielded Naruto from Mizuki's desperate attack. If Rin was not a medical ninja…

Naruto shivered at the thought.

"Ibiki will question him, and, depending on his answers, he will be dealt with according to his crimes." Naruto glanced between the three older faces, and guessed that the punishment did not bode well for Mizuki. Good. "Now, if that is all, you all should get some rest. Two of you have exams in the morning," the old man said with a kind smile. Naruto hesitated as the other three stood.

"Actually, Ojīsan, I have a question." The three of them glanced at each for a second before sitting. The old man gestured for Naruto to talk. "Right before Iruka-sensei stopped him; Mizuki-teme said he knew an S-class secret about me." He locked eyes with the old man, who looked decidedly uncomfortable as he chewed on his pipe. "He said he knew why everyone…" He trailed off.

"I had planned on telling this once you made Genin." The old man sighed. "But from what I can tell, you won't have a problem graduating tomorrow." Naruto grinned at that. The three older shinobi had all been shocked when he showed them the jutsu he managed to learn from the scroll was a cloning technique. "Naruto, do you know what happened twelve years ago on your birthday?"

How could he forget? "The Kyūbi attacked the village." It was one of the most repeated lessons at the Academy. "The Yondaime sacrificed his life to kill it and save the village."

"That's not entirely true." Naruto's eyes widened even as Rin muttered "understatement."

"Huh? That's how Iruka-sensei always said it happened?" He shot Iruka-sensei an accusing glance, but the Chūnin studied the ceiling like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Like Mizuki said, it is an S-class secret." The old man puffed on his pipe with a sigh. "The Yondaime did sacrifice himself to stop the Kyūbi, but not even he could kill a bijū. You see, Naruto, tailed beasts are made up of pure chakra. If they are slain, they will eventually form again." Naruto scratched the back of his head. That made sense. Sort of…

"So what did he do?"

"The only think he could. He sealed the Kyūbi away inside a newborn boy, turning him into a jinchūriki." Naruto's heart sank, guessing at the conclusion. "That boy was you, Naruto."

Naruto could hear his heart pounding as the room fell silent. So it was true then? He was actually a demon. It explained everything. Why the villagers always whispered, why the kids always picked on him. Why nobody ever acknowledged him.

"Naruto, I want you to listen to me." Depressed, blue eyes met stern black as the Sandaime became serious. "Despite what many may think; the jinchūriki are _not_ the beasts they hold within. The seal the Yondaime put on you makes sure it is _impossible_ for the Kyūbi to influence you in anyway."

"I-I'm not a demon?" Naruto hated how his voice cracked.

"Absolutely not!" It was Iruka-sensei that made the declaration, and Naruto felt his chest get lighter.

"You are you and only you, Naruto. I guarantee it," the old man said with a half smile.

"Minato-sensei's seals were legendary, kid. There's no way he screwed up his last one." The support of the almost stranger sealed the return of Naruto's good mood.

"Give it enough time, and the villagers will come around." Naruto nodded at that.

"I'll just have to become strong so they know I'm _not_ the Kyūbi, dattebayo!" He pumped a fist in the air and grinned wide. The three adults smiled at the statement, and Naruto chose to take that as encouragement.

"First you have to pass the Genin exam, Naruto." Naruto's fist and grin dropped, as he hung his head. Leave it to Iruka-sensei to bring him down from a moment.

"It's late. You should all go and get some rest." The three nodded and made for their respective homes. Naruto took the long path home, hands clenched behind his head as he gazed up to the moon. He quirked his lips in a half-smile. He never would have guessed that knowing why everyone treated him like they did would make him feel this much better. Now he only had to show them all that they were wrong about him. Jinchūriki or not, he was still going to become Hokage.

Believe it.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter! I know it's not much different than canon, but it serves as a good starting point to introduce Rin, and show where the changes start for Naruto. One conversation with Iruka a month before the graduation exam and a new Sensei will have fare reaching effects that I look forward to exploring. So, tell me how I did! Love it or hate it, please review!**

**Jutsu List:**

Name: **Chakura no Mesu (Chakra Scalpel)**

Type: B rank, medical, short range

_User concentrates chakra into the form of scalpels along their hands. Used during surgery to make precise internal incisions. Can be used offensively to cut opponent's muscles or ligaments, rendering them useless and immobilizing the opponent._


	2. Team Twelve

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I profit from this work. I'm merely using it as an exercise to improve my writing and for my own and others enjoyment.**

* * *

**Team Rin**

**Chapter 02**

**Team Twelve**

* * *

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" **With a puff of smoke, two identical copies of Naruto popped into existence. All three grinned wide and scratched the back of their heads. Iruka-sensei gave him a proud grin while his new teaching assistant was gaping at him.

"Naruto…you pass!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air with a cry of joy. "From you're overall performance, you're still last in your class." Naruto fell back down to earth at Iruka's sobering statement. Did he have to bring that up? "But I'm proud of the work you put in the last month. You'll make a fine shinobi," he finished, eyes closing in a grin.

The slack-jawed assistant handed Naruto a brand new forehead protector. Naruto snatched it from her, the weight of the metal comforting him in the confirmation that he was _actually_ a shinobi now. With a wicked grin, and _just_ the right amount of fanfare, Naruto yanked his goggles off and tied the forehead protector in their place.

"Congratulations Naruto." The chūnin grinned and stood. "Since you were the last of the students, how about we go celebrate at Ichiraku's? My treat." Naruto did not need to be asked twice, and was out the door before Iruka-sensei could change his mind. By the time his sensei caught up to him, Naruto was already digging into his first bowl of ramen. Compliments of Teuchi.

"You're never patient, are you?" Iruka-sensei asked him with a half-grin and sat down beside him. Naruto shrugged and focused on chowing down his food. A comfortable silence fell between them as Iruka received his first bowl and Naruto dug into his second. "You know Naruto, I'm proud of you." Naruto grinned around his mouthful of noodles. "Not just for _finally_ taking your studies seriously, but for how you handled the Mizuki situation. You acted like a true shinobi would, and didn't let what your enemy said get into your head."

"It was no big deal, Iruka-sensei." Naruto scratched the back of his head with a forced grin. He did not want to admit how close Mizuki had come to confusing him. If that jōnin had not come when she did, Naruto was not sure he would have snapped out of the panic Mizuki put him in.

"In a week, you will be assigned to your Jōnin sensei," Iruka said, dropping the point. Naruto was thrown by the sudden change in topic. "And I expect you will work hard every day to become the best ninja you can be." Naruto felt sweat start to bead on his neck from Iruka's intense gaze. "But first," the chūnin grinned the way he did whenever he was about to assign his students extra work and Naruto gulped. "You are still under my jurisdiction until then, and you are going to get the leaf sticking exercise down this week if it kills both of us." Naruto felt his stomach drop. Homework after he had already graduated? That just wasn't fair. Iruka laughed at the look on Naruto's face, and tossed some ryo down on the counter.

"I'll see you bright and early at the academy training grounds," he declared with a grin and a salute. "After I'm done, maybe you won't suck at chakra control!" Naruto squawked in indignation and watched his sensei retreat with a mixture of determination and annoyance. It was not his fault he had so much chakra…

"Looks like Iruka-san left enough for another bowl," Teuchi said, stroking his chin. Naruto's eyes lit up, extra homework gone from his mind.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shouted, skidding to a halt as he slammed into his old classroom. The rest of the class snickered at him, and Naruto rubbed the back of his head with a grin.

"Naruto," Iruka began with a habitual sigh, but paused. "…why are you covered in leaves?" Naruto blinked, and glanced down at himself. Sure enough, he had leaves sticking to him in various places. With a faint blush, he swept the greenery away. In his defense, he had only just figured out leaf sticking the night before. "Just take a seat," Iruka-sensei said with a bemused grin. Naruto shot his teacher thumbs up and ran to the closest open seat.

Next to Haruno Sakura.

He flashed a winning grin, but she just rolled her eyes and focused on Uchiha Sasuke on her other side. Naruto felt the familiar pang of disappointment as his crush rejected him yet again. _At least it was quietly this time_, he thought_._

"As of today," Iruka-sensei began with a nostalgic tone. "You are all officially shinobi of Konoha. But before I tell you your team assignments, I wanted to take moment to tell you how proud I am of all of you." Naruto held back a grin. Iruka-sensei was just full of pride lately.

"From here on out, you will face challenges unlike anything you have seen in your short lives, but I have complete faith in your abilities to overcome anything the ninja world throws at you. Just promise me you'll come visit your old sensei when you become strong and famous, eh?" That earned a smattering of laughter and the nervous energy that had been present in the room dissipated.

"Now, onto team assignments! Teams One and Two are still active, so we'll start with Team Three…" Naruto kept a sharp ear out as his pulse quickened. Who would be on his team? His eyes glazed over at the thought of being on the same team as Sakura. He could show her how strong he was and convince her to go out on a date with him!

"Team Seven will be made up of Haruno Sakura," both Naruto and Sakura perked up at the pink-haired girl's name. "Uchiha Sasuke-" Naruto winced and leaned away from the shrieking Sakura.

"In your face Ino-pig!" Sakura had stood up and pointed at her blonde rival with a self-satisfied smirk.

"—And Yamanaka Ino…" Iruka finished, deadpan. Both girls looked from their sensei, back to each other, and promptly turned their noses with a matching _humph_. Naruto spared a glance at the Uchiha, but the boy looked as stoic as ever. "Your sensei will be Hatake Kakashi. Team Eight…" Naruto sighed, dejected. He looked around to see who was still left to be assigned a team, and paused on Shikamaru and Chōji. They would not be so bad as teammates, maybe…

"Under Sarutobi Asuma are Inuzuka Kiba, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chōji. You will be Team Ten." Naruto began to feel perturbed. How many people were left? He should have paid more attention.

"…will form Team Eleven under Gekkō Hayate." He cursed under his breath and focused on his chūnin sensei, hoping he had not missed his name while his thoughts had wandered.

"And finally Team Twelve. Uzumaki Naruto," the jinchūriki breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "Along with Takawa Natsuko and Kofuku Ayano." Naruto frowned and glanced at the two girls. He honestly did not know much about them other than one was in love with Sasuke, and the other never spoke to anyone. "Your commander will be Nohara Rin." Naruto perked up at that. _She was the one that kicked Mizuki's ass; awesome!_

"After lunch you will meet with your new Sensei for the first time. Dismissed!"

* * *

"Damn it Iyasu…" Rin muttered under her breath as she ran through the halls of the Academy. Iyasu just would not stop asking questions, and now she was twenty minutes late. She skidded to a halt outside the door, and glanced inside. Six students were left inside; sitting with various levels of boredom etched in their faces. At least she was not last. She took a breath, straightened her jōnin vest, and entered the room.

"Sorry for being late," she said as all six head snapped toward her. "I got held up. Team Twelve?" Naruto and her two girls shot up from their seats while the other three looked on with resignation. _Must be Kakashi's_, she thought. "Attentive, good." That earned small smiles from each of hers, and Rin felt her chest lighten some. "Now, meet me at the training ground outside." Before her students could move, Rin performed a silent and seal-less **Shunshin. **

She leaned against one of the wide posts that served as a target dummy with a smile. Hopefully she managed to impress the kids. First impressions were important, after all.

"Whoa Sensei! How'd you do that? That was awesome!" Naruto's enthusiastic shout made her wince.

"It was the Body Flicker Technique; a D-rank ninjutsu." The redheaded Kofuku Ayano supplied with a disapproving frown. "Iruka-sensei showed it to us last month."

"Eh?" Naruto held a sheepish grin. "Guess I didn't pay attention." Ayano looked away from him with a derisive sniff.

"All of us even tried to do it that day," Takawa Natsuko said, tapping her chin, eyes cast upwards. "Sasuke-kun and that creepy bug guy were the only ones to get it down though."

"Where was I?"

"I think you were in detention for one of you stupid pranks."

"Oi! My pranks aren't stupid!" The blonde boy glared at the taller girl, who matched it with ease.

"Just as stupid as you are, Baka!" Rin's eyebrows rose and her stomach dropped at her team's antics. Naruto was shouting a retort, Natsuko was getting red with anger, and Ayano had her nose buried in book. This was not a good start.

"Enough!" She shouted in a tone she saved for a rebellious med-nin. All three genin froze in their positions and looked to her in surprise. Apparently they had forgotten she was there. Her left eye twitched. "I have to say that this has been a terrible first impression." She met each of their eyes with a stern look. They all bowed their heads.

She took the moment to study her genin. The shortest one, Natsuko, was wearing a sleeveless green shirt with an abstract brown design, as well as dark brown shorts that stopped just above her knees. Her hitai-ate acted as a belt, with a kunai pouch attached on her right hip within easy reach. She wore fingerless gloves, and had her dark brown hair tied into a loose ponytail that flowed past her shoulders. It was passable shinobi attire, and Rin gave an approving nod unseen by the girl's grey eyes.

She studied Naruto with a wince. A bright orange jumpsuit, broken up only by the dark blue shoulders, would more likely than not get him killed on a mission. He had his weapons pouches in easy to reach places, and wore his hitai-ate as a standard forehead protector. He would have to change from that awful orange, though.

The tallest of the group was Ayano. Her hitai-ate held back the shaggy red hair that fell to her neck. She dressed simply, with a long, dark blue shirt that reached mid thigh, and black pants. She strapped her weapons pouches just below the hem of her shirt on both legs, and both her wrists and ankles were wrapped. It was passable as well.

"If you're done," she said at length. "Now is about the time where we should introduce ourselves to each other. Who's first?" All three kept silent, glancing at each other hesitantly. Rin sighed. "…okay, I suppose I'll start. My name is Nohara Rin, and I've been a jōnin for just about ten years now. I am the—" she paused with a light grimace. "_Was_ the chief medical nin at Konoha Hospital for the past three years." Her genin all looked vaguely impressed by that. "I enjoy helping people, a quiet night with a good book, and pleasant company. I dislike idiots, slackers, and the ignorant." Finally, I look forward to teaching you and making you into the best shinobi you can be." Rin let herself smile at her generic description, but still none of the genin spoke up.

She pointed at Naruto. "Er, well." The boy cleared his throat and stood up straight. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I like ramen! And I dislike people who don't like my pranks." He gave a sidelong glance at Natsuko, who glared at him. Rin closed her eyes for a brief second. _I will not kill my genin on the first day…_

"Hopes, dreams, plans for the future?" She prompted. Naruto grinned wide, a spark of determination lighting up in his blue eyes.

"I'm going to become the greatest Hokage ever! Then everyone will have to acknowledge how awesome I am, dattebayo!" Ayano looked at him as if he had grown a second head and Natsuko outright laughed at the declaration. The blonde boy deflated, but Rin interrupted before either of the girls could say anything.

"That is an… admirable goal, Naruto." He perked right back up as both girls gave her disbelieving looks. "If you want to achieve it, then I expect you to do your best to work hard." He gave her a sharp nod. She smiled at him, and looked to the girl next to him.

"Well, I'm Takawa Natsuko, and I'm going to be the village's best sensor ninja and bōjutsu expert. I like Sasuke-kun, training, and I dislike idiots." She gave Naruto a pointed glance. Rin ignored the jibe at Naruto and motioned for Ayano to speak before Naruto and Natsuko could start arguing again.

"Um, well." The redhead started, clearing her throat. "My name is Kofuku Ayano. I like to write and read books by my favorite author." Her pale cheeks flushed softly. "I don't like my freckles and I hope to travel the world and become a strong ninja." _Well,_ Rin thought, _at least she didn't try to start a fight with the others._ The girl did give an apprehensive look to her teammates though.

It appeared her team would be rather…contentious. Her mind wandered back in time when she, Kakashi, and Obito were a team. She sighed; that was a lifetime ago now.

"Alright, well." She began after a short pause. "Now that we all know each other, I can tell you that you have not quite made it to genin level just yet." Three surprised shouts greeted her at that. She held back a smile and raised a hand to stave off their objections. "I know you passed the Academy exam, but it takes more than that to become a true shinobi. Meet me at training ground twelve tomorrow at eight o'clock sharp." As tempted as she was, Rin did not stay around to enjoy the shocked look on her genins' face. Instead, she used **Shunshin **to escape before they could recover and bombard her with questions.

She heard three confused squawks as she raced away. She grinned; maybe teaching could be fun after all. If her team ever got along, that was.

* * *

"I can't believe how unlucky we are." Natsuko griped while watching the sky. "I mean, both Sakura and Ino get to be on a team with Sasuke-kun, and we get stuck with _Naruto_." Ayano, who was busy scribbling in a notebook, hummed in response. Natsuko gave her an odd look. "Are you even listening?"

"No." Natsuko went slack jawed for a moment at the blunt reply. Since her teammate was not paying attention, she tried to entertain herself by toying with her staff, but the silence quickly became too much.

"What do you think Sensei's test will be about?"

"I don't know." Ayano had not even looked up from her notebook once. Natsuko frowned and rested her chin on her knees.

"What are you writing about anyway?" The girl just shrugged. Natsuko furrowed her brow in frustration. She never usually had trouble carrying a conversation, but this girl just was not helping. "Do you have anything you want to talk about, then?"

"Not really." Natsuko sighed and fell backward. She never had trouble finding common ground with the other girls in class. They would always talk about Sasuke-kun, or what they wanted to be good at, or fashion, or _something._ The fact that Ayano did not seem to have anything to say led Natsuko to one conclusion.

"You're boring." She whined while watching the clouds drift.

"And you're annoying." Natsuko sat back up and glared at the redhead, who glared right back at her.

"Hey guys! How's it going?" They both snapped their heads in the direction of the new voice. Naruto paled under their gazes. "Er, what's wrong?" Natsuko held back a scoff. Like she would tell _him_ anything. Her parents had just reminded her the night before to always be wary around Naruto.

"Nothing," She and Ayano said at the same time. Natsuko locked eyes with the freckled girl, glared for a second, and turned away from both her teammates with her arms crossed. She really was unlucky to be stuck with these two.

"I'm glad to see you're all getting along so well this morning." Natsuko scrambled to her feet at her sensei's sudden appearance. The jōnin was frowning at them, arms crossed over her flak jacket. "I trust you all came prepared?" Natsuko nodded along with her teammates. "Good." Rin-sensei dug into her pocket and brought out two small, round bells. "This is your test." Natsuko glanced at the others, but they looked as confused as she felt.

"This is the same test I was given as a genin," Rin-sensei said while tying the bells to her purple, apron-like skirt. "Your objective is to get one from me by any means necessary. If you manage to get one, you become a genin. If you don't, then you're out of the program. For good." Natsuko felt her heart quicken in nervous anticipation. Sensei only had two bells, which meant that it would be impossible for all of them to pass. She glanced at her classmates, finding that they had realized the same thing.

This just became a competition.

"Remember, you will have to come at me without holding back at all if you want to have a chance at getting the best of me. Anything less and you won't come anywhere close." Natsuko felt a familiar determination fill her belly. One usually saved for wooing Sasuke-kun. "You have until noon, begin!"

Natsuko wasted no time and sped away, wanting to find a good place to observe her sensei without being seen. She found a likely tree and crouched in the upper branches, and turned to study her sensei.

"A direct attack? Not very clever." Natsuko's eyes widened in surprise when she saw a dozen orange blurs charging at Rin-sensei. All twelve Naruto's were shouting battle cries even as Rin-sensei weaved between them, striking each as she passed them. The clones burst into smoke at each strike, and the real Naruto was sent flying backwards across the clearing.

_Those clones were solid!_ Natsuko was simultaneously impressed and jealous that he could do that. _They definitely didn't teach us that at the academy_. Naruto shot back to his feet, rubbing his chest where Rin-sensei had hit him. He grinned and formed a ram seal, bringing another dozen clones into existence. Natsuko looked on in disbelief as Naruto tried the same tactic again, then again, and then _again_.

"You know, trying the same thing over and over again isn't very bright," Rin-sensei said in a dry tone as the brigade of Naruto's ran at her once more. "I'm actually disappointed you couldn't come up with anything better." Natsuko nodded her agreement to Sensei's words. Once again, she bemoaned the fact that she got saddled with the dead last as a teammate. Rin-sensei popped the last clone and kicked Naruto across the field and into the woods. "You should just stop trying at this point!"

"No matter what, I never give up! That's my nindo, my ninja way!" Natsuko looked to Naruto with a disbelieving gaze as the boy came running out of the tree line with another contingent of clones. Rin-sensei shook her head and took her stance once again. She had not even needed to leave her spot yet. As the clones were bursting from existence, Natsuko wondered if she could use this to advantage. Maybe she could sneak up behind and…

Her eyes widened when another Naruto raced in from the opposite side of the clearing, behind Sensei's back. Rin-sensei was so intent on the clones that there was no way she could notice the new Naruto in time. Natsuko held her breath in anticipation as the orange-clad genin got closer and closer to their sensei. A hand reached out, a bell jingled, and for a small moment it seemed like Naruto had won.

"Not quite!" Rin-sensei shouted, spinning away from the genin's hand and grabbing Naruto by the back of his jumpsuit. Sensei held him up to her eye level and smiled at him.

"Aw, Rin-sensei, how did you know I was there?"

"You were loud enough to wake the dead." The blond crossed his arms and pouted. "Still, it was clever to make me think that you _weren't_ clever!" Rin-sensei said, eyes crinkling in a smile. Naruto grinned at the praise. "But even with clones, you won't be able to pull this off on your own." With that, Rin-sensei spun and threw Naruto with great force.

Right at the tree where she was hiding.

Natsuko yelped and tried to dodge, but the genin was going way too fast. He crashed into her and sent them both sprawling to the ground. When she came to from her daze moments later, Natsuko found a stunned Naruto lying on top of her with his hands grabbing at her developing chest while he tried to climb off her. With a furious blush, she shoved the dead last off her and scrambled to her feet. She reached for her jō staff and swung it at the recovering Naruto.

"Pervert!" The staff thwacked off the back of Naruto's head, sending him back down to the dirt. Natsuko glared at the fallen boy. She had not hit him _that _hard.

"Your mistake was your inaction." Natsuko jerked in the direction of the voice to find Sensei almost on top of her. Before she could bring her jō up to create space, Rin-sensei lightly tapped two fingers against her forehead, and Natsuko felt a sudden wave of exhaustion. She could not stop her eyelids from closing as she succumbed to sleep.

* * *

Rin left the two lying just inside the wooded section of the training ground and made her way back to the center of the clearing. She was somewhat impressed by Naruto's bait and switch with his clone tactics, but it had been far too simple of a charade to catch her totally off guard. Natsuko's utter inaction grated on the jōnin's nerves, but she forced herself to remember just how badly she had done when she was a genin.

The faint whistling of a kunai flying through the air put her back into battle-mode. She took a quick step to the left, and the projectile sailed harmlessly by. Rin scanned the tree line for the source of the projectile. It looked like Ayano was finally ready to unleash whatever it was she had been planning.

A volley of shuriken, from a different direction, caused Rin to leap to the right to avoid being shredded by the swift pieces of metal. It was quickly followed by wave after wave of shuriken and kunai. Rin dodged every bit of metal with practiced ease, having already spotted where the redheaded genin was launching her attacks from. Rin was dancing closer the edge of the clearing where the genin was positioned, each projectile aimed too fire behind her to pose any real threat, when her eyes widened in realization.

Ayano was either terrible at throwing weapons, or she was trying to guide Rin into this position. She got her answer a moment later when a tagged kunai landed in front of her. Rin acted immediately and was able to easily avoid the entire explosion, but she landed between a series of trees that were _covered_ in tags. Her eyes flashed over and analyzed them in a split moment. She smiled at her genin's plan.

"Got you!" Ayano shouted, leaping down from the trees with her hands ready in a seal. Rin knew she could have already used a **Kawarimi **to get away from the tags, but wanted to see what her genin planned to do. "Give me one of the bells, Sensei, and I won't have to activate them."

"I told you to come at me without holding back, Ayano," Rin said without losing her smile. "As a kunoichi, you have to be willing to do anything to complete a mission. So go on ahead." To her credit, Ayano hesitated for only a moment before activating the tags. Rin slammed her eyes shut and sent chakra to protect her ears as the clearing was suddenly filled by an intense light and a deafening _boom_.

Knowing what was coming, Rin shot out a kick in the direction of her belled hip. She felt her foot dig into flesh and a weight thump on the ground next to her. She let go of the chakra and opened her eyes to find Ayano doubled over in pain and trying to catch her breath. Rin winced. Perhaps that kick had been a little rough.

"Using flashbang tags instead of explosive tags was really quite clever," Rin said as she advanced on the incapacitated genin. "Especially after setting up the expectation with the kunai bomb." She extended two fingers from her right hand and placed them on the girl's forehead. Green eyes widened in fear.

"But with only one attacker, I could have gotten away from your barrage of weapons very easily. Or I could have used a **Kawarimi**to get away from the tag trap without much effort. **Genjutsu: Fui Tsukare**." Rin's chakra pulsed in the familiar jutsu, and Ayano's eyes fluttered closed.

She picked the slumbering genin up and brought her to her unconscious teammates. It had taken only an hour for all three to be disabled, and Rin estimated they would be unconscious for another hour and half or so. That would leave them with another ninety minutes before noon to pass the tests.

Ayano was clever, Naruto was stubborn, and Natsuko packed a punch. She could only hope that the three of them had understood her rather obvious clues to succeed.

* * *

Naruto woke up with a blinked his eyes open to the sight of the forest canopy waving in the gentle breeze. At any other time Naruto may have appreciated the pretty sight, but the memory of how he had gotten knocked out filled him with a sense of urgency. He sat up quickly, which proved to be a mistake as the world spun around him. He clutched the back of his throbbing head and fought the urge to throw up.

"You're finally awake." Naruto opened a careful eye and saw both his teammates leaning against nearby trees. Ayano was rubbing her stomach with the occasional wince, and Natsuko was holding her left arm with her right hand. Naruto narrowed his eyes at her.

"You attacked me!" He accused. Natsuko glared right back at him.

"You were lying on me and grabbing at me!" Naruto blinked in confusion.

"We just fell from a _tree_! I was trying to stand up!"

"Stop!" Ayano cut in before Natsuko could argue back again. "We only have an hour left in the test, and I don't want to fail." She tried to stand, but doubled over with a hiss of pain. "Sensei really hits hard," she muttered, clutching her stomach. Naruto and Natsuko nodded their agreement.

"What should we do? I mean, I didn't even get a chance to do anything before Naruto screwed up and Rin-sensei used him like a kunai to take me out."

"Hey! At least I _tried_. You were just sitting in the tree."

"Baka! I was trying to study her technique so I could find a weak point, just like Iruka-sensei said we should do." Naruto glared at her for the insult but Ayano perked up.

"Did you see anything useful?" Natsuko deflated, looking sheepish.

"Not really."

"I didn't either. She's been toying with us." Ayano sighed and rubbed her temples. Naruto wondered if her head hurt as much as his did. "Did she say anything to you two before she knocked you out?"

"Only that I should have acted…" Natsuko said, kicking a rock. "Though I don't see how I could have helped.

"She told me that even with clones I couldn't do it on my own," Naruto said, scratching his cheek. He saw Ayano's eyes widen and Natsuko took a sharp breath. He furrowed his brow, knowing he missed something.

"Rin-sensei told me that my plan wouldn't work because it was too easy to counter since there was only one attacker," Ayano said, slightly breathless. Naruto blinked, and the puzzle clicked in his head. They were supposed to work together.

"But there are only two bells. If we team up, how do we choose who gets one?" Natsuko said, dejected.

"We couldn't even come close to getting them on our own, so we don't have a choice," Naruto said, stretching his aching neck. "We'll deal with the bell thing after we get them."

"I agree with Naruto." He gave Ayano a winning grin. Natsuko looked between them and sighed.

"How do we do this, then?"

"I'm out of tags, but…" Ayano tapped her chin and hummed. "How much ninja wire do you two have?"

* * *

Rin opened her eyes with a soft smile as she heard the rustling movement in the trees around her. Now was the moment of truth. Would her genin come together and pass, or fail as individuals? Rin was surprised that she actually hoped they would pass. Maybe the Hokage had been correct?

Someone made a soft landing to her left, and Rin jumped to her feet with a frown. Natsuko stood there, staff poised in a basic stance, but she was alone. Rin made a "come hither" motion and did not bother to take a stance.

Natsuko charged in, spinning and twirling her staff in a blur of brown and green. Rin ducked and dodged the staff's swings, but Natsuko was quick in recovering from each miss. Rin soon found that, as long as she held back, she would be giving ground to the new genin. Rin sighed, impressed at the potential she saw, but disappointed that her lesson had not sunken in. She hopped over a leg sweep and raised her fist to strike back at the genin.

The whistling of broken air stopped Rin before she could strike, and she ducked out of instinct. A kunai flew over her head, and Natsuko had enough time to recover. Rin could not stop the smile from creeping on her face even as Natsuko resumed her attack. If Ayano was acting as range support while Natsuko was on point; that meant it was up to Naruto to get the bells. Either they had figured out the test, or they were desperate. One or the other.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" Naruto's shout reverberated through the grounds as ten of him charged out of the clearing from behind her. Rin's eyes widened and she cursed to herself for not paying proper attention to her surroundings. When had she gotten so close to the forest edge?

She changed direction and leapt away from all of her attackers, but all eleven of them responded quickly. It was Natsuko that attacked her, and the clones only moved to periodically make an attempt for the bells or to stop her from striking Natsuko when a kunai or shuriken had not already forced her to dodge. Still, she was picking off the clones at a decent rate, and she could see that Natsuko was tiring from the strain of keeping her staff in constant motion. Natsuko stumbled, and Rin saw her opportunity.

She stepped forward to strike, ducking the expected shuriken, and she shot a fist out to take out Natsuko. Just as her fist was about to connect with the girl's face, Rin felt a pulse of chakra and it was Naruto that she hit. Her punch caused him to burst in a cloud of smoke, and Rin had no time to be surprised as another volley of shuriken was heading her way.

She leapt over the assault, mind racing. That had to have been a **Kawarimi**, which meant that Natsuko had either been expecting it, or was too tired to resist the technique. Either way, it was quick thinking on their parts.

"Naruto, now!" Ayano's shout was sudden and _close_. Rin looked up to find the girl in the trees above her, wire grasped in her hand. The redhead leapt down from the tree, and Rin heard the chilling, familiar sound of a ninja wire trap being sprung.

"**Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" Rin snapped her head up to find at least fifty clones descending on her. With the rain of clones and the swiftly encroaching wire, Rin had nowhere to run.

Luckily she did not have to.

"**Kawarimi,**" she whispered, trading places with a log. She watched from a nearby tree as her genin's plan came to an end. Natsuko and Ayano each held firm on an end of ninja wire, keeping the trap in place. A pile of Naruto clones was on top of the trap and, she guessed, were supposed to retrieve the bells. Had she not been a jōnin of considerable skill, Rin thought that there was a slight possibility of the plan succeeding.

She was pleased.

"Did you get them?" Natsuko asked through labored breaths. Rin knew that the girl had given her all trying to force her into the proper position.

"No way!" Rin's grin widened at Naruto's anguished cry. The clones began popping away one by one, eventually revealing that they had been piling on top of a non-descript log. She probably enjoyed the shocked disappointment on their faces far too much.

"Well done you three," she called with a kind smile. The trio looked at her with a mixture of apprehension, awe, and fear. "You pass!" They were shocked silent.

"But…the bells?"

"The bells were never the real objective." Rin explained. "The challenge was for you three to come together to try and achieve a common goal, despite knowing that not all of you would share the reward." Dawning recognition shined on the three young faces.

"You can be the strongest shinobi in the world, but you won't last long if you don't have anyone at your back," Rin said, recalling the very same lecture Minato-sensei had given her and her teammates years ago. "It is teamwork that makes shinobi truly powerful. Allies can lift ninja up to places far beyond their normal potential, and give you a chance to take on enemies much stronger than themselves. Understand?" The three nodded, and Rin gave them a warm smile. "Now go home and rest. We have training tomorrow at eight." With that, she used a **Shunshin **to dash away, leaving three exhausted, but elated genin in her wake.

* * *

Hiruzen gazed over the dozen collected jōnin and tried to gauge how well this meeting was going to go. Hopefully more than a third of the genin had passed this time. Judging from their expressions though, he did not hold out much hope.

"I know it has been a tiring day for all of you, so I'll try to make this quick. Kiyomu, let's start with you. How did Team Three fair?" The aged jōnin shook his head with a sigh.

"They failed quite miserably, Hokage-sama. They did not show much promise as individuals, and their teamwork was abysmal. I recommend assignment to remedial training or complete removal from the program." Hiruzen nodded with a grim frown, scratching out the three genin's names under the "fail" category.

"Team Four?"

"Fail, Hokage-sama. I recommend they never be near the shinobi world ever again." Hiruzen raised a brow at the harsh statement, but trusted his jōnin's judgment.

"And Five?"

"They're not ready for the shinobi life, Sandaime-sama," the scarred jōnin said, face set in a grim line. "Put them in the remedial program and they _might_ become passable. Someday." Hiruzen scratched the names down with a sigh. This was not boding well.

"Six?"

"They show a faint glimmer of hope, Hokage-sama, but I don't think they're ready yet. They will do well in remedial training." Hiruzen harrumphed. With Kakashi's infamous record, he almost did not want to ask about Team Seven.

"Kakashi?" The masked jōnin's visible eye crinkled in a smile.

"They passed." The aged Hokage blinked in surprise. He was quick to mark the children's names under "pass" before Kakashi could change his mind.

"How did Team Eight perform, Kurenai?"

"It was close," the young jōnin said with a grimace. "And they have a lot to work on, but they pass." Hiruzen took a happy puff on his pipe as he scratched three more names in the winning column.

"Asuma?"

"They pass with flying colors," his son answered, cigarette hanging lazily from his mouth. Hiruzen hummed his approval. They were on a role.

"Hayate? What about Team Eleven?" The sickly jōnin coughed and shook his head in the negative. Only one team left, and Hiruzen braced himself.

"Did we beat the curve, Rin?" The woman's brown eyes shined with warmth that had been absent the week before.

"They passed, Hokage-sama." Hiruzen grinned around his pipe and wrote the three's names down. A forty-four percent pass rate was much better than normal.

"Good, good. I will get this to the registration division as soon as possible." He put the paper aside and leaned forward, resting his chin on clasped fingers. "Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, and Rin please stay behind. The rest of you are dismissed." The four jōnin bowed and made swift exits. The remaining four settled themselves in for a longer meeting.

"So," the Hokage said once his office door closed. "What are your first impressions of your genin? Kakashi, you start."

"Uchiha Sasuke is the strongest and most developed on the team, by far."

"Big shock," Asuma said with a snort. Kurenai shook head and Kakashi rolled his visible eye. Rin just studied the silver-haired man with a frown.

"His reputation as a genius is correct, but I worry about what drives him." Kakashi chose not to elaborate. "Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura are much less advanced, and are constantly at each other's throats." Hiruzen raised a questioning brow. "But they each show promise, and they performed better when trying to outdo the other. Being on the same team as Sasuke seems to motivate them."

"Playing them off of each other could be a dangerous game, Kakashi." The masked man shrugged, nonchalant. Hiruzen took that as a sign that he was already well aware of the risks. He shifted his gaze to the striking, red eyes of his newest jōnin. "Kurenai?"

"Aburame Shino already has an impressive mastery over his clan's techniques, but he lacks a variety of other skills to accentuate that strength. He's a quick thinker and a budding strategist, but he's also standoffish and slow to trust his teammates.

"Hyūga Hinata has an amazing amount of potential," she said with a grimace. "If she ever gets out of her own head. She is hesitant, lacks self confidence, and is too quiet to add to team discussions." Kurenai let loose a heavy sigh. Hiruzen suspected that the girl's apparent meek demeanor grated against Kurenai's driven nature. "Still, she has a good foundation in the Jūken, and has a remarkable amount of chakra control for a genin.

"Shimizu Toru is the roughest of the three. He is below average in genjutsu and taijutsu, but he has a knack for using ninja tools in creative ways." Her left hand stroked her opposite shoulder with a wince. "He _really_ likes explosions."

"Your genin managed to hit you Kurenai?" Asuma asked with a laugh. Kurenai looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Thank you for the detailed report," Hiruzen interrupted before they could begin arguing. "What about your genin, Asuma?"

"Shikamaru's a closet genius, Chōji probably already has more raw strength than most chūnin, and Kiba is a loudmouth with a knack for beat down taijutsu." Hiruzen waited for elaboration, but his son just puffed on his cigarette with his arms resting behind his head. The aged Hokage shook his head. He only hoped that Asuma's easygoing laziness did not rub off on his genin.

"Rin?" The med-nin sat up to attention, having drifted off into her own world.

"There's definitely potential here, Hokage-sama. Takawa Natsuko has a surprising amount of skill with her jō staff. Though, her stamina and technique can use some improvement. She seems to have a weakness for genjutsu, and is quick to anger, but both can be improved on with time. Kofuku Ayano shows some potential as a strategist and with projectile weaponry, but is also susceptible to genjutsu. I also did not have a chance to test her taijutsu or ninjutsu, which leads me to believe that she favors neither."

"Uzumaki Naruto is stubborn and somewhat of a loudmouth, but he has the best stamina I have ever seen in a genin. He showed some brief tactical ability and a determination to improve himself. The best thing, though, is that he is a human battery." The other three jōnin shot her confused looks, but she ignored them. "If he can learn to properly control his chakra, he will be a great ninjutsu specialist."

"Good. It sounds like we should expect a lot from this year's rookies. Now, you should all go home and get some rest. I assume you have students to teach in the morning, and I must impress just how exhausting that can be. Dismissed." Kurenai and Asuma wasted no time in vacating his office, but Rin stayed back. Kakashi hovered just outside the door, a concerned black eye studying his former teammate.

"Hokage-sama, I just wanted to say thank you." Hiruzen smiled and nodded. "I think you may have been right."

"I am glad to hear it." The woman bowed, turned on her heel, and strode out of his office. She had not even paused to glance at Kakashi. The silver-haired jōnin shot him a questioning glance, but Hiruzen just shrugged and lit his freshly stuffed pipe.

It would be an interesting year.

* * *

**A/N: And there's chapter 2! The teams have been formed with some major changes from canon, which should lead some interesting situations in the future. Naruto's teammates are, obviously, OC's, but do not worry about them being super powered or simply better than any of the Konoha 12. The way I look at it, these two (and the one on Team 8), are ninjas that were failed by whatever sensei they had in canon. That being said, they won't be completely useless either.**

**EDIT 8/17/12: Someone pointed out that nobody figured out the Kage Bunshin training method until Kishi made it up and had Kakashi discover it. As such, I changed Rin's description of Naruto from "He who abuses the Kage Bunshin," to "He of the Near Limitless Chakra." No big deal, just needed to be done.  
**

**That beings aid, how do you like them so far?**

* * *

**Also, here's a reference for how the teams ended up in this story:**

**Team 7: Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Yamanaka Ino**

**Team 8: Yūhi Kurenai, Aburame Shino, Hyūga Hinata, (OC) Shimizu Toru**

**Team 10: Sarutobi Asuma, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chōji, Inuzuka Kiba**

**Team 12: Nohara Rin, Uzumaki Naruto, (OC) Kofuku Ayano, (OC) Takawa Natsuko**

* * *

**Jutsu List:**

**(Tajū) Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – (Multiple) Shadow Clone Technique**

B-rank – Kinjutsu

User splits their chakra evenly to create solid clones of themselves. These clones can attack and use chakra as well as their creator. When the clones are destroyed, any knowledge they have gained will be transferred to the creator.

**Genjutsu: Fui Tsukare – Illusion: Abrupt Exhaustion**

C-Rank – Genjutsu  
User touches the victim and tricks the victim's brain into believing it has almost no energy left to draw from. This causes the victim to immediately become tired to the point of immediate effect of falling unconscious.

**Shunshin – Body Flicker Technique**

**Kawarimi – Body Replacement Technique**

* * *

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Please read and review!**


	3. Early Days

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I profit from this work. I'm merely using it as an exercise to improve my writing and for my own and others enjoyment. (Full author's notes at the end of chapter to avoid spoilery-ness)  
**

* * *

**Team Rin**

**Chapter 03: Early Days  
**

* * *

Ayano hummed a tune as she stepped out of her room ready for her first official day of shinobi training. She tightened the strap of her kunai holster as she took the stairs two at a time. The familiar bustling sound of the rest of her family preparing the restaurant for the day reached her as she stepped onto the landing, and she tiptoed her way toward the side door. Hopefully nobody would—

"Aya-chan! Come back here and help prep for the morning rush!" Her mother called. Ayano froze in her tracks, bristling at the nickname. She grimaced and turned on her heel, giving her would-be captor her best glare. The woman, sporting her usual hostess dress with her auburn hair done up in an elaborate bun, was tapping her foot with a delicate, raised brow.

"I can't. I have training today." The older redhead's foot stopped tapping and her hands landed on her hips. Ayano braced herself for the usual scolding.

"Young lady, your father and I have put up with your childish dream for years now. We let you go to that school and play at being a ninja as long as you remembered that the restaurant always comes first. It's not often that we ask you for help," Ayano held back a snort. She had nearly failed the academy every year due to how often she was late. The amount of extra credit she had to do to pass still made her shudder in fear. "But when we do, I expect you listen to me."

"I _can't_." Ayano put as much force into the word as she could. Her mother looked taken aback. "I'm a full –fledged genin now. I can't blow off training like I used to do with school."

"You graduated?" The older woman asked, blinking in surprise. "When?"

"A couple days ago." She forced herself to ignore the pang of hurt. "I have responsibilities now."

"You have responsibilities here!" Ayano took a shuddering breath. She would _not_ lose her cool right now.

"If I ignore my training, I could wind up hurt. Or dead!" Ayano felt a guilty sense of satisfaction as her mother paled. "That's if they don't kick me out of the program first."

"D-die?" Ayano gave a grave nod. "Then it's definitely time you withdrew from the program and focused on your training here." Her mother turned to go back onto the restaurant floor. "Honestly. We all thought you'd give up before you got this far." Ayano stood there, stunned. As much as she wished it did not; her family's lack of support _hurt_. Before her saboteur could turn around to make sure she was following, Ayano bolted out of the building.

She held back the tears with a vicious snarl as she weaved through Konoha's crowded streets. She was a ninja now; she had to be _strong_.

* * *

"Morning!" Natsuko called into the kitchen, bright and chipper. Rather than the normal chorus of greetings, silence met her. She studied the abandoned room with a frown, but the smell of a freshly cooked breakfast distracted her. She bolted to the table, finding a steaming plate of breakfast pastries on top of a folded paper. She nibbled on one of her mother's pastries and scanned what turned out to be a not from her father. Her parents and brother had apparently been called out on an emergency tracking mission.

She shrugged at the note, used to her family's hectic schedule, and grabbed another pastry from the plate. If there was nobody here to talk to, there was no use sticking around. She secured her staff to her back and was out the door within minutes.

"Better early than late, I guess." She was not sure what to expect from real ninja training, but, after yesterday, she was sure it was going to be tougher than anything she had ever done before. A flutter of excitement filled her chest, and Natsuko put an extra spring in her step. Rin-sensei was so strong! She had never really seen how powerful a kunoichi could be before, and the jōnin's performance had been an eye opener. For once, Natsuko felt the desire to improve her skills, rather than just go with the flow as she normally did.

She took a breath and shut her eyes without missing a step. She reached out with her chakra and tried to feel the world around her. It was a familiar exercise now, after a year of repeated practice. Her family was made up of sensor-type ninjas, but none of them were lucky enough to be born with the talent already perfect. Natsuko bobbed and weaved through the foot traffic in the streets with an ease that had taken months to master.

For the most part, she could not get a sense of individual chakra, but she could feel that _something_ was around her. Makoto had promised that it just took practice to get more refined, and her brother never lied to her. What she did feel made her smile, though. Most of the people of Konoha gave off a warm, welcoming feeling that always made her feel at home. There was an occasional cold and dark presence, but she never managed to pinpoint who it was.

"Hey, Natsuko! Why are you walking around with your eyes closed?" She jolted to a sudden stop as a presence dropped down right in front of her. She opened her eyes to be blinded by orange.

"I was practicing my family jutsu," she said in a clipped tone. The class idiot was her teammate now, and so she would be civil. She did not have to like him, though.

"Your family has special jutsus? I didn't know you were from a clan." Natsuko rolled her eyes. The Takawas were far too small to be an official ninja clan. He would have known that; if he ever paid attention in class. Not for the first time, Natsuko wished she had been as lucky as Sakura and Ino with her team placement.

"We're not a clan, but everyone in my family is a sensor ninja." She closed her eyes and started walking toward training ground twelve.

"Cool," Naruto said as she felt him fall into step with her. "What's a sensor ninja?" He asked a few seconds later, causing her to trip over her own feet.

"Baka! Don't you know _anything_?" She snapped her eyes open to find Naruto frowning with his arms crossed, looking hurt. She sighed, feeling a pang of guilt, and ran a hand through her dark hair. "A sensor can _feel_ others' chakra. Everyone has it, even civilians, so it's really useful for finding people."

"So if I hid somewhere in the village," Naruto said, brightening back up, "You would be able to find me?"

"Well," Natsuko replied with a sheepish smile. "I'm not that good yet. But yeah, someday I'll be able to."

"Sounds really useful." Natsuko nodded and a silence fell between them as they neared the training ground. With her eyes open, she noticed that people were giving them a wide berth while casting odd looks toward the orange clad genin. She spared a glance to her teammate, but he wore a serene smile.

_Be careful around that boy, Natsuko_, her father's words echoed. _Nothing good will come from him_. She furrowed her brow in thought. She could not reconcile her father's warnings and the people's wariness with the blonde idiot. Something did not add up

"Hello." Natsuko turned to find her other teammate coming from a side street. Ayano waved at them with a small smile, but her eyes were pink and slightly puffy. Naruto returned an enthusiastic wave, either not noticing or not caring that she had been crying. Natsuko frowned, but chose not to comment.

"You three are early? Good!" All three of them turned to see their sensei drop down from the roofs above, arms full with scrolls. The woman gave them a kind smile. "I hope you're all eager, because your serious training starts today."

"You better believe it Sensei! I'm ready for anything!" Natsuko winced as Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs. Ayano also took a surprised step back, but Rin-sensei only ruffled Naruto's hair without losing her smile.

"Glad to hear it, come on." She waved them to follow her, and they swiftly obeyed. "This morning we'll begin with something really intense…" Natsuko shared a look with her teammates and saw eagerness in their eyes that matched her own. She had to grin.

* * *

"Thought exercises?" Naruto asked with no small amount of dismay. Rin forced down a laugh at her genins' crestfallen faces. It really was unfair of her to lead them on like that, but it was just too much fun.

"Yes Naruto, thought exercises." She sat in the grass and spread out one of the scrolls in front of her. The genin all sat in front of her and peered at the diagram on the scroll. "As a shinobi," she said, switching to her lecturing tone, "you will always have to keep your mind sharp. A ninja that doesn't use their head is a dead ninja. Worse, they get others killed." She tapped the scroll in front of her, pointing at four figures in the center.

"This is a diagram showing a possible scenario you can come across during a mission. Inside a large, well lit warehouse, three enemy ninja are holding an important hostage at kunai point. The goal of your mission is to retrieve the hostage safely at any cost." She shifted her finger to indicate three different figures on the roof of the warehouse. "These are you three."

"The warehouse itself is two stories tall, with windows lining the upper floor. There is also a hatch on the roof. The second "floor" is nothing more than a series of crisscrossing walkways. The enemy nin and hostage are in the middle of the ground floor. How do you save the hostage?" Her genin looked to her, at each other, and then studied the scroll. Rin closed her eyes and took a meditative breath. It would probably take them a few minutes to come up with a solution.

Naruto's enthusiastic voice came a second later. "That's easy, Rin-sensei." She opened her eyes and saw him grinning. "We bust in and take them out and get the hostage out of there." Rin sighed.

"The enemies kill the hostage as soon as they hear you enter the building. Mission failed, try again."

"You never said they'd do that!" The blonde accused with a pout. His teammates just shook their heads and looked back to the scroll.

"Always take into account the worst case scenario, Naruto. When a group is holding someone hostage, always think that they would rather have that person dead than to be rescued. Try again." The blonde boy huffed, but looked back to the scroll.

"A ranged attack," Ayano then said; her eyebrows furrowed over swollen eyes. Rin made a mental note to keep an eye on the girl's mentality.

"Go on." The redhead perked up at not being outright rejected.

"Well." She chewed her lip. "We'd have to sneak in unnoticed, and then each of us could take out one of the enemies with a kunai or shuriken." Rin gave the girl a small smile.

"Not the worst plan." Ayano's face brightened. "But you would have to make sure each strike takes out opponent, and at the same time. If any of the kunai miss, or take a split second longer to strike, then the hostage is dead and your mission failed. Low chance of success, try again."

Rin closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh morning air. She heard her genin start muttering to each other and grinned. They did not have to be told to work together today, which she counted as progress. The problems she set for them would not be overly difficult, but they would have to think. At least a little.

"A distraction." This time it was Natsuko who spoke. The brunette pointed to a spot just outside the warehouse. "That will get at least one of them to come investigate."

Ayano took over. "As soon as they're out the door—"

"We kick their ass!" Rin laughed as the two girls grimaced at Naruto's outburst.

"We take them out, " Ayano said with a sidelong look to Naruto. "And one of us uses the **Henge **to take their form and call for more help."

"Meanwhile, one of us would have snuck into the rafters using the roof hatch or the windows…"

"So when it's down to only one person left, someone just has to not miss with a kunai!" Naruto finished with a wide grin.

"A divide and conquer strategy, not bad." Rin smiled. "A decent chance of success. Good job!" Her genin beamed with pride, and she unraveled the next scroll.

"Next up is a guarding type mission" She held back a laugh at the near inaudible sighs from the kids. They would get used to it.

* * *

"You're relying too much on your clones!" Rin shouted as she ducked another kick from behind. One sweep of her leg behind her was followed by a series of seven bursts as shadow clones dispersed. "Come at me on your own if you want to improve." Naruto, who was already halfway through his hand seals, grimaced and charged her.

Rin frowned as the orange-clad boy came at her with wild, unrefined attacks. He did not use the academy taijutsu, but rather an unorthodox brawling style. While it was less predictable than the academy taijutsu, Rin knew that it also had a lower ceiling of skill. He was limiting himself by using a form best left to civilians.

After another wild swing, Rin decided she had seen enough. She caught his follow up kick in a tight grip and spun. Naruto yelped in surprise as he was picked up and tossed through the air; right at his resting teammates. Her other two students squawked and scrambled to get out of the way, but were too slow. Rin smirked while they tried to disentangle themselves from each other.

It was the little things that made a day fun, really.

"Good news and bad news," she said to the kids once they stopped grumbling. "Bad news. You all have a long, _long_ way to go before you'll be respectable in taijutsu." All three hung their heads at the blunt denial of their skill. "Good news is that I can see each of you has a lot of potential." She glanced to the sky and saw the sun high and center. "We'll work on it tomorrow morning, but for now go and get some lunch." She finished with a smile.

The three genin picked themselves off the ground and stretched. Rin eyed each of them with a critical gaze. Ayano was the worst off of the trio in terms of stamina, and Rin suspected she had the smallest chakra reserves. Her taijutsu was average, and did not waver from the academy style, but Rin assumed, by what she saw yesterday, that the girl was more of a ranged fighter anyway. Still, they would work on it. Natsuko had a natural grace about her with her staff, and was not much worse off when disarmed. Her style used more spins and flexibility than Rin was used to, but the jōnin thought her style was still rough.

Her eyes shifted to her third genin. "Naruto, stay back for a few minutes." The blonde boy shrugged and trudged back over to her while the girls continued on the path that would take them out of the clearing that served as their training ground.

"What's up, Rin-sensei?"

"You don't use the academy style taijutsu."

"Hm?" Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Nope."

"Why? I'm sure Umino-san would have preferred you to use it."

"It was boring." Rin gave him an incredulous look, but he was oblivious. "Besides, Mizuki-teme never cared what I fought like." Rin pressed two fingers against her forehead. Of course Mizuki would not put full effort into teaching his students. "I was always near the top in taijutsu, though!"

"Near? Who would beat you?" Rin could practically feel her opening.

"Um," Naruto tapped his chin, eyes cast upwards. "Sasuke-teme, Kiba, and Hinata sometimes…" He trailed off for a moment before getting a look of defensiveness. "But they didn't use the academy style either!"

"That's because they have their own family styles to learn." A fleeting image of Obito fighting passed through her mind. "But I can guarantee you that they each mastered the academy jutsu as well."

"So?" Naruto asked with his arms crossed. "It's not like the use it all."

"Every single fighting style can trace itself back to the basic academy forms." Naruto frowned.

"You have to master the basics before you can learn the cool stuff," Naruto muttered with a look of dawning realization. Rin raised a curious brow.

"That's right, where'd you hear that?"

"It was something Iruka-sensei told me when I had trouble controlling my chakra."

"Good advice." She placed a hand on the short boy's head and ruffled his hair. "I'm not saying you're doing anything wrong, Naruto. You just need to take a step back and get a solid foundation." He nodded beneath her hand.

"Then I can kick anyone's ass, yeah?" Rin giggled at his blunt enthusiasm.

"As long as you train hard, anything is possible." She poked his head and took the most basic form of the academy style. "Now, match my movements." Her student complied.

* * *

"So where do you want to go to eat?" Natsuko asked as she and Ayano trekked away from the wood's edge. The redhead shrugged.

"Wherever." Natsuko squinted her eyes at the girl.

"Don't you ever have an opinion about something?" The redhead looked to her and opened her mouth to say something, but hesitated. Ayano snapped her mouth shut and focused on the ground, and Natsuko bit her lip with a sudden rush of guilt. "Sorry…" She said with a sigh. "How about the curry place? I haven't eaten there before."

"No!" Natsuko breath hitched in a brief moment of fright from the quiet girl's sudden shout. The redhead closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I just…anywhere else? Please?"

"How's the barbeque, then?" Natsuko asked. She wanted to ask what the taller girl's reaction was about, but she did not know Ayano well enough to pry.

"Sure," Ayano replied with a neutral expression, calming down. Natsuko counted the fact that the girl calmed down as a small win. She figured she would have to take what she could get. They were quick in weaving through the Konoha foot traffic, and, when they were approaching the restaurant, Natsuko spotted three familiar faces.

"Ino-chan! Sakura-chan! Sasuke-kun!" She called out, grabbing Ayano's hand and rushing over to her former classmates. The three were being led by a white-haired man who wore a jōnin flak jacket and his hitai-ate at an angle to cover his left eye, with his hair set at a gravity defying upward angle towards the right.

Natsuko skidded to a halt in front of the quartet and let go of Ayano's hand. The redhead was blushing and straightening her shirt with slight frown. She shrugged and focused on her friends. Ino and Sakura were glaring at each other with raised fists, while Sasuke-kun watched with a mix of annoyance and tiredness.

"Er, guys?"

"Two of Rin's kids, hm?" The jōnin said in a lazy drawl, never taking his eye off his bright orange book. The two girls stopped glaring at each other and finally noticed Natsuko and Ayano. Their eyes lit up.

"Natsuko chan!" They both said, and Ino engulfed her into a hug. It had only been two days, but after seeing each other every day for four years, that was practically an eternity. "Finally, someone to talk to other than Billboard Brow," Ino whispered in her air. Natsuko let out an uncomfortable chuckle at that. She had no idea why the two girls seemed to hate other so much, but often _chose_ to spend most of their time together. It did not make any sense.

"As if you're any better, Ino-pig!" Just like that the two were forehead to forehead, giving each other heated glares. Natsuko rolled her eyes at the familiar antics and turned to Sasuke-kun, who had turned to gaze at the clouds. She stepped into his line of sight with a cheery grin.

"Hey Sasuke-kun! How's life as a genin? I bet you've already gotten super strong!" Sasuke looked at her with those deep, black eyes that hid so much, and frowned.

"Hn." he glancing over to his teammates. His jaw tightened and he turned away from all of them to glare at the sky. Natsuko's face fell.

"Not well, then." She muttered to herself. The boy's dismissal of her was familiar, and did not sting as much as it used to. Sasuke never opened up to _anyone_.

"How're things with your team, then?" Sakura asked. Ino was pouting with her arms crossed, which meant that Sakura had gotten the last word this time.

Natsuko shrugged. "It's not that bad. Naruto's not as annoying as I thought he would be." Sakura and Ino looked skeptical at that. "And Ayano…" Natsuko gave a start, having completely forgotten about her teammate's presence. With a guilty blush, she turned to apologize to the redhead. Natsuko's eyebrow rose in surprise when she saw Ayano and the jōnin having an intense, whispered conversation. "Ayano is odd, but nice enough," Natsuko finished, turning back to the girls.

"She was always quiet in class." Ino noted. "Kakashi-sensei seems to like her."

"Kakashi-sensei likes weird things." Sakura countered. Ino nodded in agreement. Natsuko felt a pang of guild for talking about her teammate like this.

"You guys are _so_ lucky, though!" She said, changing the subject. "What's it like being on a team with Sasuke-kun?" Instead of the over the top excitement she expected, both girls adopted a look of frustration.

"It would be a lot better if Ino-pig wasn't holding us back." The blonde scoffed, and turned on the pink haired girl with her hands on her hips.

"If _I_ wasn't holding you back?"She looked livid. "You're the reason we failed the bell test!"

Sakura's eye twitched. "You missed with your mind jutsu thing and left me wide open!" She countered.

"I missed because you're trap was in the wrong place!"

"It was not! Kakashi-sensei just fell into it from a weird angle!" Natsuko looked between each one as they argued back in forth. It was like watching an awkward tennis match.

"So now it's Sasuke-kun's fault?"

"I never said that!"

"Enough, you two." Kakashi's bored voice interrupted him. The jōnin was slouched, with his hands in his pockets. He gave off nothing but a lazy vibe. Natsuko frowned at his apparent indifference. "You can't put the blame on just one of you, it was a team effort. Understand?"

"Yes Sensei." The two girls replied, heads bowed. Kakashi smiled beneath his mask.

"Besides," he said in a jovial tone. "You all sucked!" Sakura's jaw dropped, Ino squawked, and Sasuke growled at the rebuke. "But you'll get better. Now, I have to stop at the bookstore and pick up a newest _Icha Icha_ before we start training again. You kids go on without me."

"I thought that's why you were late this morning." Sakura accused him with narrowed eyes. Kakashi shrugged and sped through a few hand seals before disappearing in a swirl of leaves. Natsuko frowned. Did all jōnin use the **Shunshin **for dramatic exits?

"We only have a half hour before we have to be back, Natsuko." Ayano's quiet voice surprised Natsuko. How had she forgotten the girl was there? Again!

"Right," she muttered. "Let's stop somewhere quick then, yeah?" The four girls set off to find a good place, with Sasuke trailing behind at a reluctant pace.

* * *

"You'll have to do better than that, Baka!"Ayano and Natsuko stood at the entrance to Training Ground Twelve with their jaws slack. There were thirty Narutos beating each other senseless under Rin-sensei's amused eye.

"You can't talk to me like that! I'm the original!"

"Oh yeah?" The other blur of orange yelled back. "No wonder you ended up dead last! The original let out a roar of rage and delivered a vicious kick to the clone's side, dispelling it in a puff of smoke.

Naruto winced in pain, clutching his side in the same spot that he had kicked the clone. "Shouldn't have hit it so hard." He grunted, and went back into the fray.

"Rin-sensei?" Ayano was more than a little confused over what was going on. After a half hour of listening to Ino and Sakura prattle on about Sasuke, her head was already starting to hurt. Seeing her other teammate doing his best to kick his own ass was enough to push it to a full blown headache.

"Oh, hello girls," the jōnin said with a bright smile. "I was just giving Naruto some tips on his taijutsu. Disperse!" The sudden shout at the end caused both Ayano and Natsuko to wince, and Naruto instantly dispelled the remainder of his clones. When the smoke cleared, he was clutching his head with a wide grimace.

"Too much at once." He whined with his eyes jammed shut.

"I did warn you," Sensei said with a sigh.  
"Why was Naruto fighting himself?" Natsuko asked, leaning on her staff. Rin-sensei and Naruto gave each other a knowing glance, and Naruto broke out a wide grin.

"We discovered that Naruto has a unique ability." Rin-sensei explained. "He's perhaps the first person that can use shadow clones without worrying about chakra exhaustion." Ayano frowned in thought. So the blonde had a lot of chakra. It was not completely unheard of.

"I can use my clones to learn stuff!" Naruto supplied with a happy shout.

"How?"

"The shadow clone is not like a normal **Bunshin**, Natsuko." Ayano gave her sensei her full attention. The jōnin was using her lecturing voice again. "They were developed as a means of gathering intelligence. When they are destroyed or dispelled, whatever they learned is transferred back to the original." Ayano's eyes widened and her heart sped up in excitement at the realization of what the shadow clones were capable of.

"You have to teach us that jutsu, Sensei!" She demanded. The possibility of speedy learning was like a dream come true. With it, she could become _strong_, and show everyone that she could accomplish her dreams.

"Absolutely not." Rin-sensei said with a stern edge. The excitement shattered and left a deep pit of disappointment in Ayano's stomach.

"Why not? It sounds like it could make training easier!" Natsuko 's whiny objection echoed Ayano's thoughts.

"Because it is a forbidden jutsu for a reason." Rin-sense planted her hands on her hips and gave them a no-nonsense look. "It takes an incredible amount of chakra to perform in the first place, and then it cuts your chakra in _half_." Ayano wilted at that, knowing exactly what would happen if she were to try to use it. "If you do not have the reserves for it, attempting the **Kage Bunshin** would kill you."

She pointed to Naruto. "He is extremely lucky that he has unusually high chakra reserves, or he would be dead right now." Ayano gained a bit of satisfaction from seeing Naruto's face turn pale. "That being said, once I am confident you two have the reserves to pull it off, I will gladly teach you." Ayano felt a bit better at that. At least it was _something_.

"Now, to further that goal and," she pointed to Naruto. "To help you control chakra better than a three-year-old—"

"Hey!" He shouted, then pouted. Ayano could not stop herself and giggled at his expression. Natsuko's chiming laughter filled the training grounds as well.

"—we will be doing extremely important training this afternoon!" All three of them stood at full attention. "You're going to learn how to climb trees!" She said, as if it was going to be the most exciting thing in the world. Ayano slumped to the ground, deciding that Rin-sensei was evil incarnate.

"Eh? What's climbing trees have to do with training?" Naruto asked in his loud, whiny voice.

"Oh you'll find out." Rin-sensei said with a grin that sent a chill up Ayano's spine. She sighed and picked herself off the ground. At least if they got through Sensei's idea of training they could start missions. It was something to look forward to, she supposed.

* * *

"I hate these missions!" Ayano yelled in utter annoyance. Naruto looked to his teammate with a tired grin. Her normally neat hair was frizzy and flying in every direction, her clothes were torn, and she was covered in scratches. Naruto rubbed the back of his head, knowing he did not look much better.

"They aren't that bad," Natsuko countered. She was carrying a fat, purring cat and looked no worse for wear. Naruto glared at the demon beast, a cut on his leg echoing in a stinging pain. How that thing escaped its master every week, without fail, was beyond him.

"That's because you didn't _do_ anything!" Ayano had a savage glint in her eye. Naruto had long since learned to stop pushing the tall redhead's buttons when she got that look.

"I do plenty," Natsuko defended herself. She flicked her hair over a shoulder. "Besides, someone's got to look good for us." Ayano's eye twitched and Naruto looked up to the sky with his hands clasped behind his head. It looked like they were heading for another argument. They sure did that a lot.

"It's the only thing you're good for." Ayano accused with a growl. Natsuko halted to an abrupt stop, and the cat took the chance to jump free. Naruto leapt after the beast, capturing it by its tail. He clutched the cat to his chest even as it tried its best to scratch his face off. He agreed with Ayano. These D-rank missions really, _really_, sucked.

"Want to say that again?" Natsuko asked in a sweet tone, but her knuckles were white while they gripped her staff. Naruto looked to Rin-sensei, but she just shook her head. _Let them get it out of their systems_, she had told him. _They'll be better off for it. _Naruto did not like it, but he would follow his sensei's orders.

"You heard me," Ayano replied, not backing down. Natsuko narrowed her eyes at the girl before turning on her heal and striding towards the Hokage Tower.

"Naruto, tell our teammate that just because some people don't care what they look like, nobody should."

"Uh…" Naruto said, struggling to keep the demon in his arms.

"Naruto," Ayano said in her dry tone. "Tell _her_ that just because she doesn't want to take being a ninja seriously doesn't mean that the rest of us don't."

"I…" Naruto looked back and forth between his teammates. Honestly, how was he supposed to deal with these types of situations? It was not like he had much experience with this type of thing.

"Girls, stop putting Naruto in the middle of your arguments." Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Sensei to the rescue!

"She started it!" They both accused at the same time. They all stopped for a moment as Natsuko and Ayano glared at each other before Rin-sensei pushed them on.

"Honestly you two," Rin-sensei said in a long-suffering tone as she pushed them along. "You've been teammates for a month now. " Naruto narrowed his eyes at his sensei. So much for staying out of it. Ayano and Natsuko both bowed their heads, and the four of them continued in silence.

They shuffled into the Hokage tower, dodging around the bustling chūnin and jōnin. It was a familiar practice after three weeks of doing missions. Naruto scoffed at the idea that the chores the Hokage kept assigning them were actual missions, but that was all the old man would offer them.

Naruto followed Rin-sensei into the familiar mission room. A long table was positioned in the center of the room, where the old man and a bunch of chūnin gave out missions and payments. Despite the squirming cat in his arms, Naruto smiled. For what it was worth, the missions to catch the demon beast paid more than the average D-rank. More money meant more food, and more food meant better training!

"Team Twelve reporting mission success, Sandaime-sama." Rin-sensei announced, standing rigid with her hands clasped behind her back. The old man looked up from his papers with a kind smile, smoke rising from his pipe. He removed the worn wood from his mouth and prepared to say something, but a loud squeal interrupted him.

"Tora! Oh you naughty kitty, come to Mommy!" Naruto felt a brief moment of pity for the cat as a rotund women snatched it from his arms. The thing howled in horror as the woman squeezed it into her ample chest. No wonder it always tried to escape. "Oh thank you kids! You always get Tora back to me, safe and sound!" The woman turned and waved to the old man. "Until next time, Sarutobi-san, Iruka-kun."

Naruto perked up at the second name, and only then noticed that the chūnin at the old man's side was the Academy teacher. The scarred man looked like he did after one of Naruto's more thorough pranks.

"It's been a pleasure, Ma'am," He said in a tone that hid any tiredness. With that, the woman giggled and slipped from the room. Her cat's yowling echoed behind her.

"Well," the old man said after a long moment. "I believe this makes thirty-eight successful D-ranks completed for Team Twelve." He glanced to Iruka-sensei, who checked a piece of paper before nodding. "An impressive record for three weeks." Naruto resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Doing two of those a day was not something he thought of as impressive.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Rin said, giving all three of them a _look_. They all immediately echoed her. They had been fast to learn that when Rin-sensei went into ninja-mode, you did not argue with her. Naruto was still unnerved at how fast Rin-sensei could go from happy and cheerful to cold and efficient. Even for a shinobi, that had to be weird, didn't it?

The old man had a twinkling of amusement in his eye. "The praise is well deserved. Now, what shall you take for your second mission of the day? The construction aid and office work missions available." Ayano and Natsuko groaned at hearing that, and Naruto could not help himself.

"Aw, come on Old Man! Give us a real mission, none of this babysitting and cat catching crap!" His teammates gave him the slightly awed looks he normally got whenever someone heard him talk to the old man, but Naruto could _feel_ his sensei staring into the back of his head. He did not want to risk looking at her and losing his nerve. "I mean, we've been doing things like this for a _month_! We can handle whatever you throw at us. Right Ayano? Natsuko?"

The girls glanced at each other, to their sensei, and then to floor. Iruka-sensei was shaking his head, face planted in his palm. Naruto gave them a weak glare as he felt the cold sting of betrayal settle in his stomach.

"Well, we do have a C-rank or two lying around." The old man rested his chin on laced fingers, a small smile playing on his lips. Naruto felt a spark of victorious hope.

"Hokage-sama, you can't be serious?" Iruka-sensei said in complete disbelief. Naruto set his jaw against the fact that his former sensei did not appear to believe in the skills. "They're only fresh graduates." The Hokage hummed, eyes not leaving where Rin-sensei stood.

"Thank you, Umino-san, but these are my genin now, not your students. It is up to me to decide whether or not they are ready." Naruto looked to his sensei for the first time since his outburst, a happy smile ready to break out on his face. He stopped short when he saw her though. When had she turned so pale? Rin-sensei's kind brown eyes locked onto his.

"But you're right. They are _not_ ready to go out on C-rank missions yet." Naruto deflated, knowing by Rin-sensei's tone that he would have no chance to argue further.

"I see," the old man said, shuffling through a pile of paperwork. "In that case, I think I have a D-rank in mind for you." Naruto held back a sigh, knowing it would only get him in trouble.

* * *

"I can't believe you talked to the Hokage like that." Natsuko whispered as she and her teammates followed Rin-sensei toward their mission. Naruto grumbled something she could not make out and shifted the stack of paperwork in his hands. "Now we probably won't get to go out of the village for another month. Sakura-chan and Ino-chan mentioned they were going to go out on one soon, too. Now we'll fall behind…" How could she ever have a chance to impress Sasuke-kun if her two biggest rivals outperformed her? Once again, she lamented the fact that she was not on the last Uchiha's team.

"I had to try," Naruto whined. "We don't do anything important! We're ninja, we're supposed to be saving the world and stuff!" Natsuko shook her head. Where did he come up with this stuff?

"We all have to start somewhere," Ayano said with a frown. "All the jōnin in the bingo books have done hundreds or thousands of D-ranks." Naruto groaned at that implication.

"You complain about them more than he does," Natsuko reminded the redhead. The girl just shrugged in her usual way. It was a habit that irked Natsuko to no end.

"Do you three know which way you're going?" Rin-sensei's cheerful voice interrupted them. Natsuko was relieved that whatever had made her sensei act so weird in the tower seemed to have passed.

"Yes, Rin-sensei," the three of them chorused. It was odd how quickly these habits developed over the last month, Natsuko mused. Then again, with her family still out on a mission, she had spent most of her waking hours in the company of these two.

"Once we make it to the main gate, I'll leave you three to it." The jōnin told them. Their mission was to distribute a new set of orders to the chūnin guarding the gates. It was not a vital priority, but it needed to be done. That was a pattern she had noticed with the D-ranks.

The open main gate of Konoha soon towered over them, and Natsuko could not help but stare at the sight. She had never been so close to the edge of the village before, and had no idea what to expect. The gate was at least the size of the Hokage's tower, with a bunch of intricate designs carved into the wood. The forests of Hi no Kuni sprawled out just beyond the protective barrier, making the outside world look like a sea of green.

"Afternoon, Jōnin-sempai," one of the chūnin said with a wide yawn. Natsuko raised a brow. Just two chūnin to guard the massive gate? Seemed like it should have been more. "Anything we can help you with?" Rin-sensei gave the three genin a glance, and Naruto was the first to step forward.

"The old man gave us your new orders," the blonde said, tossing a stack of papers onto the chūnin's desk. Natsuko sighed and heard Ayano palm her face. Leave it to Naruto to completely forget about formality.

"The "old man?" Is that any way to talk about the Hokage, Brat?" The sleepy chūnin chastised. Naruto gave a shrug that could rival Ayano. "Now listen here—"

"Whatever, we've got more of the _old man_'s orders to give out." Naruto said with a wave of dismissal. The chūnin both spluttered, but Rin-sensei just shook her head. It was just another average day for Team Twelve.

"Out of the way!" Everyone snapped their attention to an ANBU operative barreling through the gate. Natsuko could make out more figures approaching a short distance away. The chūnin guards looked taken aback. Apparently they had been too distracted by Naruto "We've got injured!"

"How serious?" Rin-sensei asked in a business-like tone.

"Pretty bad, Nohara-san," the masked ANBU admitted. The panicked tone was at odds with the emotionless lion mask he wore. "They were in pursuit of an A-class escapee, and got caught unaware. Two dead, two seriously injured, and the rest are wounded." Natsuko shared a worried glance with her teammates. They all knew about the more dangerous aspects of the shinobi life, but they had not come face to face with it yet.

"Understood." Rin-sensei turned to them and gave them her best "do what I say" look. "You three are going to finish your mission and then take the afternoon off. Understood?" Natsuko was going to voice her assent when she caught sight of the person leading the group back.

"Mako-nii!" She called, running to her older brother. The boy's normal smile and confidant aura were nowhere to be found. Instead, his eyes were puffy, his arm was in a sling, and he looked exhausted. When he caught sight of her, his face fell. Natsuko felt a pit of dread settle into her stomach.

"Natsu-chan…" She felt her heart pounding against her chest hard enough to make her lose her breath.

"Wh-where are Mom and Dad?"

"They…" he trailed off, looking after the ANBU that were racing toward Konoha General Hospital with a pained expression. "It doesn't look good." The world froze for a long second and Natsuko could not catch a breath. Makoto's words just would not register.

Without thinking about it, she dropped the _stupid_ and _useless_ paperwork to the ground, and raced off after her parents. Wetness slid down her cheeks as she ran, and she barely registered her brother and team falling in step behind her. Her parents would be alright. They _had _to be alright.

* * *

**A/N: And there you have Chapter 3! This is a semi-filler chapter that is meant to show the status quo for Team Twelve, as well as their dynamic. How do you guys like Natsuko and Ayano so far? I've got a good many thoughts on their characters and where they're going to go, but I'd like to hear from the readers to see if you even like them in the first place!**

**Also, there will be no Wave Mission in this story. Gasp! In all honesty, I just don't think I can make it better/more original than everyone else who's ever rewritten it. Don't worry about Haku, Zabuza, and Gato though. They'll all show up at some point sooner or later.  
**

**That being said, the first C-rank "arc" will kickoff starting next chapter, and we'll finally get out of Konoha!  
**

**One more thing. I had a _lot_ of questions on shipping and the like in reviews and PMs. A more than fair question, considering I know how a pairing can make or break stories for people. Only a couple things you need to know about that, though. **

**I have narrowed down who Naruto will be with to two people, but the plot won't be affected by that choice until way down the road. I can tell you that he won't be paired with any of my OCs, nor will they be paired with Sasuke. (Poor Natsuko) Also, everyone will be with someone from around their age, as the student/teacher romances tend to get a bit squicky. So, no Naruto/Rin either. (Also, NaruHina and NaruSaku are not options, as they have been thoroughly explored by other authors.) Also, no yaoi, for those curious.  
**

**Other than that, wait and see! Please review!  
**


	4. The First Mission

******Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I profit from this work. I'm merely using it as an exercise to improve my writing and for my own and others enjoyment. Please read and review!  
**

* * *

**Team Rin**

**Chapter 04: The First Mission  
**

* * *

Ayano stood to the side of the hospital room, feeling helpless. Nurses and medical ninja bustled around the emergency ward, and Ayano had the distinct feeling that she and Naruto were not supposed to be there, but Rin-sensei had told them to stay put. Ayano kept her eyes locked on the two beds closest to the entrance. Rin-sensei was leaning over one, while a bearded jōnin was over the other. Their hands glowed green and sweat dripped from their brows. Ayano had never seen Rin-sensei look so focused before.

Naruto fidgeted beside her. She spared the excitable blonde a glance and saw that he looked as uncomfortable and out of place as she felt. A small sob drew her attention back to the beds. Natsuko was crying and clutching to her equally teary-eyed older brother, but her watery eyes were locked on the people unconscious on the beds. Ayano grimaced.

Ever since they became a team, Ayano had often wanted to wipe the grin off the overconfident girl's face, but seeing her look so _broken_ at that moment made Ayano feel petty and childish. Nobody deserved to watch their parents in the condition Natsuko's were in.

"I think we're in the clear here," the bearded medical ninja said in an exhausted whisper. Natsuko sobbed in relief, and Ayano saw the bedridden woman's chest rise and fall at an even pace beneath the man's hands. The redhead was _sure_ the Natsuko's mother had not been breathing when they had burst in the room.

"Then I can use your help, Iyasu-san." Rin-sensei's tone was calm, but short. Her kind brown eyes were locked onto her patient's leg. Ayano's stomach churned at the sight of the crushed limb. "The bones are completely shattered," she muttered. Iyasu spun on his heel, green aura sinking into Natsuko's father.

"There's no way we can save this," he said a moment later, eyes scrunched in effort. Rin-sensei shook her head.

"There's a chance, but…" Rin-sensei grimaced as the green aura around her hands flickered. "My chakra's starting to run low." The aura flickered again, and Rin-sensei stumbled.

"You're at your limit, Rin-sempai." Rin-sensei growled at the man's declaration. "I can handle this if we amputate. There will be much less risk, and-" Natsuko and her brother cried their protest, interrupting him.

"Naruto, get over here!" Rin-sensei's tone brooked no arguments, and Naruto raced over to their sensei. "Place your hand on the small of my back," she said, with a determined glint in her eye.

"You have to be kidding!" Iyasu argued as Naruto placed a hesitant hand on Rin-sensei's back. "He's just a genin! If you do this, we'll lose three lives instead of just one." H is face was drawn in a grim determination.

Rin-sensei grinned without humor. "Have some faith, Iyasu-san." Her hands flashed through a long series of seals. Ayano tried to keep up, but Sensei moved too fast to see each one. "**Setsuzoku no Chakra**," the jōnin declared, and Naruto gasped. Ayano watched, slack jawed, as Naruto was enveloped in a blue aura that flowed from head and toe toward the hand touching Rin-sensei. Their sensei's hands were glowing a vibrant green once again.

"He has that much chakra?" Iyasu had stepped back and was staring at Naruto in awe. Even Natsuko and her older brother were looking at the aura in wonder. Naruto, for his part, looked both confused and a bit afraid.

"Don't be afraid, Naruto." Sensei said in her kind voice. Ayano noticed that her hands were trembling. "Just need to borrow some chakra for a bit." She took a deep breath, and placed her hands on her patient's injured leg. "I never get used to this sensation."

It was a long process, but Ayano could not tear her eyes away from Sensei's work. As her hands inched down the man's leg, it seemed as if it ballooned back to life. By the time she got to the foot, the only thing that looked wrong about the leg was tender looking skin. Ayano was speechless at the transformation. Rin-sensei was amazing!

"There," Sensei said as her hands lost their glow. Only then did Ayano notice that the medical jōnin and Naruto were both gasping for breath. "It's going to take a long, long time, but his leg is safe."

"I… can't believe that worked." Iyasu was staring at Naruto with a focus that set Ayano on edge.

"Naruto-kun has the highest chakra reserves out of any genin I've seen," Rin-sensei said with a grin, despite her shaking and gripping the bed with all her might.

"That's right!" Naruto declared through gasping breaths, holding up a hand with two fingers making a 'v' for victory. "I'm the best, datteba…" The blonde suddenly wobbled and collapsed onto his rear. "I don't feel so good."

"You've gone pale," Ayano muttered, offering him a hand up. Naruto took it with that ever-present grin of his. Much to her annoyance, he leaned most of his weight onto her once she stood him up.

"A bit of a side effect." Rin-sensei sat down on an open bed. Her entire body was still quivering. "Though, I guess I've got it worse than you." She grinned and fell back onto the bed.

"Rin-sensei!" Natsuko snapped out of her stupor and ran toward the collapsed jōnin. The short girl enveloped the downed woman into a hug. "Thank you so much!" Ayano could hear the tears in her teammate's voice. She still could not wrap her head around seeing Natsuko so _vulnerable_.

"It's nothing…Natsuko-chan." Sensei's voice was faint. "Iyasu-san, could you?"

"Right," the bald, bearded man said, finally breaking out of his stupor. "Rin-sempai will need to rest for a few days," he declared. "As will you." He pointed a stern finger at Naruto.

"Eh? What for?" Ayano narrowed her eyes at the blonde and took a step to the left. Without her support, Naruto fell forward before she stepped back and caught him again. "Oh…" Ayano grinned at his now sheepish tone.

"I guess that means it's time for us to go Natsu-chan." Natsuko's older brother's soft voice broke his silence. "Mom and Dad will be fine now." Natsuko rose from Rin-sensei's bed and nodded while wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

"I don't think so." Iyasu interrupted, the light from the setting sun glaring off his glasses. "You, Chūnin-kohai, have at least a separated shoulder." The chūnin looked to his arm in a sling almost in surprise.

"I…actually forgot." He said with a humorless chuckle. Iyasu shook his head with a sigh, but turned his attention to Ayano and Naruto. He led the blonde to an open bed, which Ayano was grateful for. The boy was heavier than he looked.

"M'not sleepy…" Naruto drawled as Iyasu lowered him onto the bed.

"Of course not," the man said in agreement, but Naruto was already passed out. "You two," he then said, turning to Ayano and Natsuko. "Should go and get some rest. There's nothing left for you to do here.

"Right…" Ayano said, and waited for Natsuko to finish hugging her brother.

"As soon as I come back tomorrow, you're going to tell me everything that happened Mako-nii."

"Yeah, yeah." The boy said in a long suffering tone, but held Natsuko tight with his good arm.

"C'mon, Natsuko." Ayano put a gentle hand on Natsuko's shoulder. She felt guilty for breaking up the moment, but Iyasu was giving them the evil eye. Natsuko disengaged from her brother with her head hung as Ayano led her away. The girl was quiet until they exited the hospital and the gold and orange light bathed them in its warm glow.

"C-can I stay at your place tonight, Ayano?" Ayano snapped her head toward her teammate at the out of the blue request. Natsuko's grey eyes were locked on the ground in front of them, and a faint blush crept on her cheeks. "I…don't really want to go to my house…" Ayano was put off by just how fragile her teammate sounded at that moment. It had to irk the girl to appear so much different than her normal self.

"It wouldn't be a problem. It'll be noisy though." Ayano warned her. With sunset came the dinner rush, and the nonstop noise that always came with it.

"I won't mind," the brunette said with a genuine smile. There was no trace of her usual haughtiness at all. Ayano felt more at ease around her teammate than she ever had before. It was funny how seeing someone so open could do that.

* * *

"So much better," Ayano said with a contented sigh. She ran her hands through her hair, enjoying the damp sensation. After a long, tiring day, there was nothing better than a hot bath. She hummed to herself and slid open the door to her room to find her teammate poking around Ayano's bookshelf with a curious eye.

"See anything you like?" Ayano said, not expecting an answer. Natsuko did not strike her as much of a reader. The brunette's finger paused on a thin book that stood out from the rest by the simple fact that the cover was neon orange. Ayano's heart skipped a beat. She had forgotten that she had put that there!

"_Icha Icha_," Natsuko read. She bit her lip in thought. "Sounds familiar. I swear I heard Ino and Sakura mention this before…"

"It's…it's a romance series!" She hated the heat that was rising in her cheeks. "Kakashi-sensei let me borrow it that day." To her unending relief, Natsuko did not pull the book off the shelf before she turned to Ayano, finger tapping her chin.

"That's right. You were pretty chatty with him. Hm, if he reads it too, that's probably why Sakura and Ino talked about it." Ayano let out a quiet sigh of relief. Her guilty pleasure was still a secret.

"So, what now?" Ayano asked, flopping down on her bed. Despite the long day, she was not that tired. Natsuko sat, cross-legged, on the futon they had set up and gave Ayano a serious stare. Ayano started to feel self conscious under the girl's gaze.

"Girl talk," Natsuko said, deadpan.

"Eh?"

"I just realized that we never really talked about anything not ninja-like." Natsuko explained, a slight frown gracing her features. "And after tonight, I don't really want to hear about ninja stuff."

"Oh. Right."

"Come to think of it, I haven't really talked to Naruto outside of training either, have you?" Ayano shook her head with a vague feeling of guilt. They had never done anything as a team outside of training. Natsuko hugged her knees to her chest, eyes downcast. "But you both were there today anyway…" Natsuko's eyes dulled as she lost herself in thought.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Ayano was quick to stop her teammate from going down that line of thought. Natsuko perked up and her eyes refocused.

"Hm, where to start?" Natsuko tapped her chin, eyes cast upward in thought. "I know!" Natsuko held up a finger with a mischievous grin. "Is there anyone you like?"

"Wh-what?" Ayano fought back the rush of heat to her cheeks at the sudden question. A victorious glint shined in Natsuko's eyes.

"You do like someone!" Ayano lost the battle against her blush, and faced away from her teammate. Had she figured it out? "You're embarrassed about it? Who is it, Naruto?" Ayano snorted and Natsuko giggled. Naruto was not exactly attracting girls left and right. "Is he strong?"

"They're one of the strongest, I think," Ayano muttered, her hair falling to hide her eyes.

"Then what's to be embarrassed about! Tell me who." Natsuko was leaned forward and rested her chin on Ayano's bed. The angle let them lock eyes despite Ayano's hair shield.

"What's it matter?" Ayano asked, turning away. She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling exposed.

"Well, you know I like Sasuke-kun." Ayano heard the plop that meant Natsuko fell back onto her futon. "I was just trying to make conversation."

"Why?"

"Well…because we're teammates and all…"

"Not that," Ayano said and spun to face her teammate. "Why does everyone like Sasuke? I never understood."

"Well…" Natsuko chewed her bottom lip. "He's _Sasuke_, you know?"

"I don't." Ayano deadpanned. Natsuko furrowed her brow.

"He's just so mysterious, I guess," The petite girl said. "It makes you want to find out all about him." Natsuko cocked her head. "I mean, he's the strongest ninja in our class, and almost everybody likes him. But ever since _that _happened,he always looks lonely." She was quiet for a moment. "I guess I can kind of understand now…"

"So you want to fix him." Ayano summarized. She had read about similar situations in her books. Jiraiya-sama used that plot a lot, actually…

"I…guess?" Natsuko flopped back onto the futon, looking a bit irritated. "I don't know. Why do I have to explain it when you won't even tell me _who_ you like?" Ayano blushed faintly.

"Er, well…" Ayano started, but a knock on her door interrupted her.

"Aya-chan, could I talk to you for a minute?" Her mother's neutral voice was muffled by the heavy door. Ayano sighed at both the nickname and her mother's tone, but hopped over Natsuko and slipped out of her room. Ever since their fight, they had been nothing but cordial to one another, but never kind.

"Who were you talking to?"

"One of my teammates, Natsuko. She asked to stay the night."

"Oh." Ayano felt a brief sting of hurt at her mother's surprised tone. "When did you plan on telling me?" The events of the day flashed through her mind, and Ayano felt a sudden rush of exhaustion. Without warning, Ayano felt herself step forward and wrap her arms around her mother. The older woman immediately responded in turn. After seeing Natsuko's parents almost die, and what that did to the brunette, Ayano's fight with her mother seemed so _stupid_.

"What brought that on?" That taller woman asked as Ayano let go

"Just felt like it," the redhead explained. She thought it best not to let Mother know that she had seen the grim reality of the ninja world. Her parents were already terrified for her as it was.

"Ah, well. Sleep well then," Mother said with small smile and stepped back toward the front door. Ayano glanced at the clock, and saw that there was still awhile left before closing. She sighed and went back to her room.

"Sorry about tha-" She stopped short when she saw Natsuko curled up, asleep and snoring quietly. She smiled at the sight, flicked off the light, and climbed over the slumbering girl to get into her own bed. As she snuggled beneath her blankets, Ayano could not help but feel hopeful for the future. She rolled over, watching her snoozing teammate for a moment.

Despite the bad things that happened during the day, they had come together as a team. With that happy thought, Ayano closed her eyes and let sleep wash over her.

* * *

"Ayano, jump! Natsuko, low right block!" Naruto shouted with sweat beading down his brow. Both his teammates reacted instantly. Ayano leapt over Rin-sensei's leg sweep and Natsuko caught the jōnin's follow up punch with braced hands. Both girls were blindfolded.

"Good!" Rin-sensei called and resumed stalking in a circle around the sightless girls. Naruto, meanwhile, was standing on one leg on the small pond in their training ground while also keeping two heavy rocks attached to his outstretched hands. His breath was heavy as he studied Rin-sensei's movements, trying to guess where she would strike next.

"Natsuko, high right! Ayano, center block!" The girls defended Rin-sensei's attacks once again, and the jōnin called the end of the exercise. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and let the rocks fall into the pond with a solid _plop_. Over the past month this had become one of Rin-sensei's favorite things to do. They would rotate, with two people blind fighting and the other calling out orders while working on chakra control.

It was hard, but they had gotten the hang of it after the first week. Now they only ever let one of Rin-sensei's attacks through every once and awhile. Granted, the attacks were never at full speed, but that was not the point of the training.

"I'm proud of you three," Rin-sensei said, a smile on her face. Naruto grinned and slumped to the ground between his teammates. They were all sweaty messes, but they had stopped caring about things like that a long time ago. "You're finally trusting each other without hesitation."

"It's no big deal, Sensei," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head. Not listening to Natsuko or Ayano during the blind fights usually meant getting punched in the face. It did not take long to learn.

"It is a big deal," Sensei countered. "And that's why I've brought you three a couple of gifts." All three of them perked up at the mention of gifts. Rin-sensei reached into her flak jacket and pulled out…paper?

"Eh? You're giving us paper?"

"Is that chakra paper?" Natsuko asked, wide-eyed. Rin-sensei nodded and handed each of them a small square. Naruto flipped the blank sheet over, wondering what was so special about it.

"I thought that only chūnin or above learned elemental manipulation?" Naruto blinked, feeling lost. He _hated_ when he was left out of the loop.

"That's true," Rin-sensei said. "And it _is_ probably too early for you to learn how to create elemental chakra." Ayano opened her mouth to say something but Sensei held up a finger. "But this will tell me what jutsu you will have an easier time learning. Naruto looked at the square with a newfound respect. If it would tell Rin-sensei to finally teach them an actual ninjutsu, he was all for it.

"Now, all you do is put the paper between your thumb and forefinger." She held up her own piece to show them. "And channel some chakra into the paper like your chakra control exercises." Sensei's paper burst into flame for a second before dying out and leaving a pile of ashes. "However it reacts is your chakra affinity. I have a fire affinity, so I can learn those jutsus more easily than others. They'll also be more powerful, but that's only once you've mastered the element itself. Understand?" Naruto bobbed his head along with his teammates. He stared at the paper in his hand, wondering what kickass element he was.

"Ayano, why don't you go first?" The redhead nodded and focused her eyes on the paper. A few seconds later, her paper caught on fire just like Sensei's had. "Ah. A fire affinity like me!" Sensei said with bright smile. Ayano grinned and blushed.

"Me next!" Natsuko said with a cheery smile. Naruto pouted. Why did he have to wait until last? After a few beats of silence, Natsuko's paper crumbled into dust.

"Earth, hm. Not all that uncommon in Konoha, and deathly useful." Sensei said with a faraway look in her eye. Natsuko looked please as she shook away the paper dust. "Go on Naruto."

Naruto grinned and focused on pushing his chakra into the paper. He held his breath in anticipation until; finally, the paper reacted by splitting into two pieces. He frowned for a second when it did not catch fire and looked to Sensei for an explanation. She looked startled.

"I didn't really expect you'd have a wind affinity, Naruto," Sensei said. Her eyes glazed over as if she were seeing something from a long time ago.

"Wind? Why couldn't I get fire or something cool?"

"Wind is really strong, Naruto," Ayano said with a sigh. Naruto perked up and grinned at his teammate with a hopeful look.

"Really?" He was still a bit skeptical.

"Just think hurricanes or tornadoes," Natsuko chimed in. Naruto let that sink in for a bit before grinning. He had _not_ thought of that.

"This is going to be fun," he said. Natsuko and Ayano shot each other a worried glance and Naruto's grin widened.

"Anyway," Sensei said, returning to the present. She reached into one of her flak jacket's many pockets and pulled out a scroll. She unrolled it on the ground and slapped a hand on it with the other forming half of the ram seal. "**Kai**." There was a puff of smoke, and when it cleared, a small pyramid of scrolls was sitting there.

"How'd you do that?" Naruto asked, wide-eyed.

"Hm?" Rin-sensei muttered, fingering through the scrolls. "It's a sealing scroll. It stores things." She picked out three of the scrolls before making the half ram seal again. "**Fūin.**" There was another puff of smoke, and this time the scrolls disappeared.

"That seems really useful," Ayano said.

"It is. I'll teach you guys the basics of it at some point." She stood and stretched, and the three of them did the same. "In the meantime, I want you three to study one of these tonight." She handed each of them a scroll. Naruto's was fastened with a label that held the kanji for "wind" as well as the letter "C." Naruto grinned when he realized it was a jutsu scroll.

"Remember to _only_ read it tonight." She gave them her stern gaze and they all nodded their understanding. "You'll have plenty of time to practice on the road starting tomorrow."

A brief moment ticked by in silence, and then her words clicked in Naruto's head. "The road?" He asked, a mixture of excitement and hope pooling in his belly. Sensei nodded with a grin.

"The second surprise was that I picked out our first C-rank mission this morning. We leave at eight o'clock tomorrow." Naruto shared a thrilled look with both his teammates. "So go get yourselves a good meal and a good night's rest."

"You aren't coming with us tonight?" Ayano asked with a slight hesitation. Ever since the hospital incident, all of them had been spending much more time together as a team.

Sensei patted Ayano's head. "Not tonight kids. I have to take care of a couple things." She smiled and waved. "See you bright and early?" A second later she was gone, leaving only a whirl of leaves behind.

"She really has to teach us that," Naruto complained, crossing his arms behind his head. He started towards the exit path.

"She will eventually," Natsuko said as the two girls fell in step beside him. "So where do you two want to go eat?" Naruto opened his mouth to reply, but Natsuko smacked a hand over it. "And _not _Ichiraku's! Sensei said to get a _good_ meal." Naruto narrowed his eyes and poked out his tongue. Natsuko immediately recoiled with an "Eww!"

"Ramen is a good meal." Naruto did not know why the three of them kept having this argument. More often than not they ended up eating at his favorite ramen stand anyway.

"I could actually go for some, for once." Ayano chimed in. Naruto shot her a winning grin and Natsuko hung her head in defeat.

"Fine," Natsuko huffed. Ayano gave the shorter girl a light shove.

"Quit pouting." She deadpanned.

"You never let me have any fun, Aya-chan." Ayano twitched at the nickname and gave Natsuko an incredulous glance.

"Pouting is fun?" The brunette hummed and shrugged, reaching into one of her pouches and pulling out the scroll Sensei had given her.

"Doton nebari no numa," she read, narrowing her eyes at the paper. "Supplementary? I thought Sensei was going to give us cool techniques." She harrumphed and stuffed the scroll back into one of her pouches.

"Maybe Sense knew weren't awesome enough for a real jutsu," Naruto teased. Natsuko flicked her hair and turned her nose up at him.

"Like you're that far ahead of me, Naruto-baka." Naruto grinned, knowing there was no actual anger behind her words.

"Katon, gōkyakyū no jutsu," Ayano spoke and glancing through her scroll. She grinned. "Offensive!"

"See, even Ayano gets an offensive technique!"

"That's because she's Sensei's favorite," Natsuko declared. Ayano blushed and denied her. Naruto tuned the two out and opened up his scroll, eyes locking onto the rank and classification.

"Eh? Supplementary?" Naruto's face fell. The two girls stopped their bickering to read the scroll over his shoulder.

"Fūton, daitoppa? You don't even use ranged weapons that much." Naruto sulked at Ayano's correct observation.

"You do, though." Natsuko noted, poking Ayano. The redhead swatted the girl's hand away.

"Guess Sensei planned for us to work together, then."

"Like always." The three nodded to each other, and the smell of freshly cooked ramen soon wafted into Naruto's nose.

"Let's go!" He grabbed the two girls' hands and dragged them along behind him, ignoring their squealing protests.

* * *

Natsuko jogged along the rooftops at a steady pace, enjoying the feel of the soothing morning wind against her skin. Her overstuffed backpack slowed her down some, but it was well worth it to be prepared. _An unprepared ninja is a dead ninja, _Sensei's voice echoed. Natsuko adjusted the heavy bag with a small yawn.

In the streets below, the people of Konoha were just starting to rise and begin their day, but Natsuko had been up for hours already. She was far too anxious about going on her first real mission to get any sort of restful sleep. After what happened to her parents, she was well aware of what could happen on missions. Despite everything, her family had seen her off with smiles and words of encouragement. Her father, supporting himself with a cane, had given her his full confidence.

"The first C-rank mission is a milestone in a young kunoichi's life," he had told her in his deep, soothing voice. "I'm sure you'll make us proud Na-chan." A gentle smile crossed her features. Nothing ever seemed to get him down.

"Morning Natsuko!" Natsuko almost tripped at the sudden voice. She narrowed her eyes at the blonde in front of her, who only grinned back to her in his usual mischievous way.

"You surprised me." She accused, chiding herself for not paying attention to her senses. Naruto shrugged, hands in his pockets as he ran just ahead of her and kept staring at her. _Wait_…

"Why are you running backwards?" The blonde was keeping pace with her and jumping all the bumps and gaps with apparent ease.

"You're going too slow." Her jaw went slack at his brash answer.

"_You_ try lugging this thing around!" She shouted, jerking a thumb at her backpack. Naruto only pointed to his own stuffed pack.

"Showoff," she grumbled. Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of his head. Natsuko rolled her eyes and pushed some more chakra into her feet, jetting past the blonde. Naruto yelped and raced to catch up with her. Natsuko shared a smile with her teammate.

At some point during their time as teammates, Natsuko had started to consider the blonde a friend. It helped that he had proven that he was actually serious about his goal of becoming Hokage by going lights out in training every day.

The main gate of Konoha soon loomed over the duo, and they found that Ayano was already waiting next to the watch station, and she was not alone.

"Yo!" The silver-haired jōnin said with a cheery wave. Natsuko and Naruto gave each other a confused glance.

"Er, Kakashi-sensei? Where's Rin-Sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, I'm sure she's on her way," the jōnin sensei replied, eyes returning to his book. He flipped a page and offered nothing more. The three genin shrugged at each other and resigned themselves to wait for their sensei.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting!" Their sensei's voice echoed from around the corner a few minutes later. "I had to meet with the client, and he had some last minute…" She trailed off as she turned the corner and caught sight of Kakashi-sensei. A dark haired man trailed behind her, looking anxious.

"What are you doing here?" Sensei asked with some heat in her voice. The man behind her flinched while Kakashi-sensei shrugged with an air of indifference,

"I just happened to see a black cat and had to go the long way around," he explained, snapping his book shut. "I ran into Ayano-chan here and figured I'd wait to see you off." His eye closed in a smile while Sensei's narrowed. Natsuko glanced to her teammates, but they looked just as lost as she felt.

Sensei spun away from Kakashi and looked to the three of them. "Anyway. Naruto, Natsuko, Ayano, this is Motoike Atsuo. We'll be escorting him to Takigakure, the village hidden in the waterfall." The man behind Sensei fidgeted and bowed to them.

"Pleased to meet you!" He said in a bright tone. He wore a chūnin vest and a Konoha hitai-ate, but did not look the part of a typical ninja. He had short, well tamed black hair and a thin face with a long nose. He did not hold himself with any sort of confidence.

"Motoike-san is part of the International Relations Department," Rin-sensei explained. "We're going to be his guard while he tries to get Taki to agree to send genin teams to the upcoming chūnin exams."

"It shouldn't be too difficult," Atsuo spoke up, smiling. His voice was soft and almost hesitant. "Taki has always had a good relationship with Konoha."

"Even so," Kakashi interrupted, placing a hand on Atsuo's shoulder. The chūnin started in fright. Natsuko looked on, incredulous. This was a Konoha ninja? "You never know what to expect. My team and I just returned from Kusagakure, and they almost didn't agree to send teams."

"What? Sasuke-teme already finished his first C-rank mission?" Naruto shouted in his brash voice.

"It was our third, actually," Kakashi noted, tapping the first three fingers on his left hand.

"No way!" The blonde yelled. Kakashi shrugged, his eye still closed in a grin. Naruto scrubbed at his head in frustration. Natsuko looked on with a raised brow. Did he care that much about keeping up with Sasuke? "Come on guys!" He said, a determined fire glinting in his blue eyes.

"Naruto, it's not a-"Ayano was cut off as the blonde grabbed both her and Natsuko and started to run. Natsuko fought to keep her balance as Naruto dragged them forward.

"We have to wait for the client, Naruto!" She shouted at the blonde, who came to a sudden stop. Both her and Ayano stumbled, barely keeping their feet. "Honesty," she muttered, straightening her jacket. Naruto gave them a sheepish grin.

"You four go on ahead," Rin-sensei said with a half smile. She _would_ be entertained by Naruto's antics. Natsuko gave a half-hearted sigh. "I'll catch up in a minute."

"Come on then, Motoike-san," Ayano said, taking the lead. "Naruto will take point while Natsuko and I will guard the flanks." The redhead glanced to them, and they nodded their agreement. The chūnin nodded his understanding and took his position a couple steps behind Naruto. Natsuko stepped to a spot a step behind Atsuo, just to the left, and Ayano did the same to the right.

Behind them, Rin-sensei rounded on Kakashi and glared at him. The silver haired jōnin only looked back at her with a neutral expression in his uncovered eye.

"Set a quick pace for the first mile or two. I'll catch up," Sensei said without taking her eyes off her fellow jōnin.

"Let's go!" Naruto shouted and took off with chakra enhanced speed. "The world better be ready for Team Naruto!"

"Team Naruto?" Ayano asked with a scoff as the four of them settled into a comfortable pace jumping from branch to branch.

"If anything, we're Team Rin," Natsuko said with a roll of her eyes. Naruto deflated a bit, but was soon smiling again.

"Either way, we still kick ass!" Natsuko could not help but to grin at Naruto's enthusiasm. Even Ayano was smiling at the blonde's antics.

"You sure are confident," Atsuo spoke up for the first time. "You must be pretty strong." Naruto gave thumbs up.

"You bet! After Rin-sensei's training, we're probably the strongest genin in all of Konoha." Natsuko shook her head at Naruto's confidence.

"I wouldn't go that far, Naruto," she said.

"Why not?" The blonde asked, sulking.

"There are people who've been genin for years, Naruto." Ayano said in her patient voice. Natsuko wondered how she always seemed to be so composed. "We've only been training for a couple months."

"So?" Naruto countered. "I bet we could take on any of those teams and win!" Ayano sighed and looked to their client.

"You're a chūnin, Motoike-san. Tell him how much time it takes to become one." The chūnin looked startled and waved his hands with a sheepish grin.

"Oh, I can't really say anything!" He said with an awkward chuckle. "I was only promoted because I have a knack for politics. I'm not very strong myself." Ayano harrumphed in annoyance.

"Ayano's right, Naruto." The redhead gave her a grateful glance. Natsuko smiled at her. "It took Makoto-nii two years before he got promoted."

"Oh, you have shinobi in your family Natsuko-chan?" Natsuko raised an eyebrow at the honorific, but decided not to question the client.

"Everyone in my family is a shinobi." She informed him with only a slight hesitation. Really, her father was _technically_ still active.

"That's great!" The chūnin said with a kind smile. "I'm the first ninja from mine. I bet you get to hear all sorts of exciting stories from them, yeah?"

"Well," Natsuko said. "Usually there isn't a lot to talk about." She crossed her arms and looked to the sky in thought. "We're all sensors, so they're all only called out on tracking missions, usually."

"Oh, sensors?" Atsuo asked, looking intrigued. "That's a rare ability!" Natsuko hummed in agreement. A moment later, something looked to click in the man's mind. "Were they part of the tracking team for the escape a month back?" Natsuko's heart sped up at the memory of her parents in critical condition and her teammates looked at her with worry etched in their faces.

She waved them off with a deep breath. "They were," she said in an even voice. "They each were a head of their own team, but…" She grimaced. "They were overpowered," she finished quietly.

"So the nuke-nin got away?" Their client summarized. Natsuko nodded. "What was his name?"

"What?" Natsuko asked.

"I'm not all that strong, but I do know a lot," Atsuo said, serous. "I may know something that will put you at ease." Natsuko furrowed her brow, frowning.

"Er, I don't think-" Naruto started with a glance back, but Natsuko interrupted.

"Korutoku Satoshi." Atsuo's eyes glazed over in thought. "Dad said that he had the most sinister chakra he'd ever felt."

"I'm sorry, Natsuko-chan," the chūnin said after a few moments of tense silence. "I don't think I've ever heard of him before."

"It's alright," she said with a sigh. It was not like she would be able to do anything about it anyway…

"Anyway…" Ayano spoke after a moment. "What exactly is it you're going to be doing at Taki, Motoike-san?"

"Well, like your sensei said before…" The chūnin gave Ayano an admonishing glance. Natsuko gave the girl a grateful look, knowing the redhead was just changing the subject. She received a slight nod in return. "I'll be assuring Takigakure's participation in the chūnin exams."

"Why wouldn't they?" Naruto asked. "Aren't they our allies?"

"Yes, but…" A sudden rustling of the trees put them all on edge. Natsuko's hands twitched towards her staff as her heart tripled its pace and a light panic overcame her. Both Ayano and Naruto had pulled kunai and were scanning the surrounding foliage with keen eyes.

"Down!" Naruto barked, his joyful demeanor gone as he grabbed Atsuo and dragged him down. Natsuko and Ayano did not hesitate to follow the order, and dropped from the treetops to the ground below. As soon as they landed the three of them formed a protective triangle around Atsuo, weapons at the ready.

Natsuko scanned the thick forest around her, but could not pinpoint the source of the rustling. She felt Atsuo trembling behind her back, which did nothing to put her at ease. A whistling in the air caught her attention, and her staff was moving before she fully registered the shuriken flying at her.

"South," she told her teammates, voice no more than a hiss. The metal projectiles all bounce off her swinging staff to fall the ground, harmless. Ayano and Naruto threw a volley of kunai and shuriken in response, and a figure blurred out of the bush to avoid the weapons. The enemy landed in front of Natsuko and turned to face them. All three of them cried out in shock when they recognized their sensei's face.

"Good job!" She said with a half smile. Natsuko glared at the woman, a hand holding her chest above her fluttering heart, and tried to slow her breathing.

"What the hell, Sensei?" Naruto questioned, angry. "We could have killed you!" Rin-sensei placed her hands on her hips.

"You definitely tried," she said, deadpan. Naruto grumbled, stuffing his weapon back into its pouch.

"That wasn't funny, Sensei," Ayano said, breathless. Natsuko was glad she was not the only one to have panicked, even if only a little.

"No, it wasn't." Their sensei agreed, turning serious. "It was a perfect opportunity to test your reaction time, though. You three did well." Natsuko glanced at her teammates, sharing a proud smile. A sniffle drew her attention, and she found their client rubbing at his eyes with his arm.

"Er, Motoike-san… Are you okay?" Naruto asked, looking as uncomfortable as Natsuko felt. The chūnin waved him off with a slight smile, but Natsuko could see the puffiness in his eyes.

"I'm just fine, Naruto-kun." The man's voice was shaky. "Now I know for sure I've got capable protectors!"

Sensei laid a reassuring hand on the man's shoulder. "Sorry for startling you, Motoike-san. Rest assured that you are perfectly safe in my genins' and my hands."

"Oh, I know, I know! It was just sudden is all."

"Right, well…" An awkward silence fell on them while Sensei looked through the canopy toward the sun. "It's just about noontime, so we can take a bit of a break." Atsuo nodded and said down on a nearby rock. He was _still_ trembling.

"Are we _sure_ he's a chūnin?" Naruto whispered to her, but Natsuko just shrugged and plopped down to the ground to rest.

"So what did you and Kakashi-sensei talk about, Sensei?" Ayano asked a moment later. Natsuko listened with a curious ear, having almost forgotten about their eventful exit from the village.

"It was nothing for you three to worry about," the jōnin said, looking off into the distance. Her voice was harder than normal. "Do you three have the scrolls I gave you last night?" The three of them hastened to pull out the documents. "Good, start practicing the hand seals." She instructed. "But _don't_ put any chakra into them yet." She gave Naruto a significant look, and he pouted at the unspoken accusation. "You'll need to save your energy."

Natsuko looked to Ayano and Naruto, but if they had noticed their sensei's unusual impatience, they did not show it. With a quiet sigh she unraveled her scroll, hands automatically forming seals as she read.

It was going to be a long mission.

* * *

**A/N: So there's Chapter 4! Some team bonding and the beginning of Team Twelve's first C-rank! I know this chapter leaned pretty heavily on Natsuko and Ayano, but I felt I had to finish establishing the beginning of their character arcs. Next couple chapters will be much more Naruto based with some Rin POV mixed in for good measure, I promise.**

**That said, do you still like the two OC's, or are they getting on your nerves? I'm doing my best to make them believable, but I've never been a teenage girl, so any feedback is really helpful!  
**

**So what lies in store for Team Twelve as the move onwards toward Takigakure? Will the talks go smoothly, or will something interesting happen? Find out next time!  
**

**Please review! They help bring joy on even the darkest of days!**

* * *

**Jutsu Glossary:  
**

**Setsuzoku no Chakra (Chakra Connection)  
**A-rank – Medical Jutsu  
User connects one person's chakra network to their own, turning one into a literal chakra battery to boost a ninja's reserves. The technique is extremely draining to both parties, and can lead to death if not controlled perfectly.

**Doton: Nebari no Numa (Earth Release: Sticky Swamp)  
**C-Rank – Ninjutsu – Short Range Supplementary  
User funnels their chakra in the ground around them, turning the land into a boggy swamp that will immobilize opponents. A sufficiently strong opponent can break away from the clinging earth.

**Katon: Gōkyakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)  
**C-Rank – Ninjutsu – Short/Mid Range Offensive  
User converts their chakra to fire and releases it from their mouth as a large burning orb capable of burning through anything in its path.

**Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)  
**C-Rank – Ninjutsu – Mid/Long Range Supplementary  
User creates a large, powerful gust of wind capable of leveling anything in its path.


	5. Something Rotten in the State of Taki

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I profit from this work. I'm merely using it as an exercise to improve my writing and for my own and others enjoyment.**

**A/N: As promised, this one is much more Naruto heavy than the last few! Please enjoy!**

* * *

**Team Rin**

**Chapter 05: Rotten in the State of Taki**

* * *

"**Fūton: Daitoppa!**" Naruto shouted, hands flashing through the now familiar seals. He released a gale of breath the ripped forward, bending the forest in front of him. Naruto grinned at his handiwork, figuring he could call the technique mastered.

"Damn it Naruto!" An angry shout sounded behind him. Naruto flinched and turned, finding Ayano glaring at him with a bunch of scrolls scattered about. They had been laid out neatly moments before. "Just because you're facing the other way doesn't mean the wind doesn't reach us." Naruto rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin.

"Sorry Ayano! I think I've got this down now, anyway." The redhead huffed and gathered the fallen scrolls while muttering something. Naruto figured he was better off not knowing exactly what she was saying.

"She's just mad she can't practice hers in the forest," Natsuko's teasing voice came from just beyond camp. Naruto looked toward the girl and had to stifle a laugh at her appearance. The normally impeccably dressed girl was caked in mud. Despite the mess, she was wearing a bright smile.

"I'll let you know that Rin-sensei's scrolls are _very_ interesting," Ayano said in a huff. "But I can't read them if somebody's making a maelstrom every two seconds!"

"You have an excitable bunch, Nohara-san," Atsuo said with a hesitant smile from his place next to their fire. Naruto lips twitched downward. He did not know what to make of their client. He was supposed to be a ninja, yet he was scared of his own shadow.

"That's putting it lightly," Rin-sensei replied with a roll of her brown orbs. "Give it a rest, you three, we'll reach the border of Takigakure by noon tomorrow, and I'll need you three with plenty of energy."

"What for? Nothing's happened at all!" Naruto complained, sitting on the ground with a dull thud. The mission had been so _boring. _Leaving the village was supposed to be exciting, but ever since Rin-sensei tested them on the first day, they had done nothing but run across Hi no Kuni and Taki no Kuni. The endless sea of trees quickly lost its novelty.

"Because you need to be ready for anything," Rin-sensei said, switching to her stern voice. "An unprepared ninja is—"

"A dead ninja," he, Ayano, and Natsuko all interrupted with practiced timing.

"Right," Sensei said with a bemused grin. She looked up to the sky with a calculating gaze. "The sun will set soon," she noted. "Naruto, if you're so bored, why not go get us some more firewood?"

"Sure thing, Sensei!" He said, raising his hands to form a familiar seal.

"No clones." Naruto's hands dropped and he groaned. What good was having the shadow clones if your sensei did not let you use them? Still, at least it was something. He stood and raced to the edge of their small clearing.

"I'll be back before you know it!" He called with a wave, and ran into the shadowed woods. It was not fighting bandits or saving princesses, but at least gathering firewood gave him _something _to do.

Besides, Rin-sensei did not say that he had to get the firewood right away.

Naruto stopped running only when he was a good half a kilometer away from camp. The forest was alive with the sounds of cicadas and birds singing their twilight song. The combination reminded Naruto of home and filled him with a sense of a familiar comfort.

It would almost be a shame to interrupt that melody.

His hands raced through the seals and he took a deep breath. This time he would put some power behind it. "**Fūton: Daitoppa!**" His cry echoed around the woods, accompanied by the sudden rush of a furious wind. The gale whipped out in front of him in a wide arc, lashing and bending the trees in his path.

When his breath ran out fifteen seconds later, Naruto bent forward, taking deep breaths with his hands on his knees. The woods were now dead silent save for the crack or thud of falling debris. He raised his head and grinned when he saw his handiwork. For at least a dozen meters ahead of him, trees were either bent at an unnatural angle or broken completely. Naruto grinned; now he had two kickass techniques mastered!

"What the _hell _do you think you're doing to my forest?!" Naruto tensed up and turned to find a caramel-skinned girl, who looked to be about his age, glaring at him, hands planted on her hips. She wore a long, baggy white tank top that fell to her thighs over a pair of black shorts. A mint green t-shirt stood out beneath the tank top and matched her hair and her belt, which held a hitai-ate with the symbol for Takigakure.

What stood out to Naruto, though, were her vibrant orange eyes that glared at him with a fiery anger. He took a step back when the girl started to leak killing intent.

"Er, practicing?" He explained, running a hand through his hair. The girl's eyes flicked from him, to the path of destruction he had caused, and back. Her gaze only intensified.

"Practicing," she said, deadpan. "Do you always _practice _where you damn well please?" She advanced on him and Naruto backpedaled until he backed into a tree. "You almost destroyed my home!" She shouted as she reached him, poking him in the chest.

"Sorry!" Naruto held up his hands in a placating gesture. Her eyes narrowed for a moment before she pushed him and spun away from him with a harrumph. She looked over the ruined path of trees with a slow shake of her head.

"What a mess…" She cocked her head to the side for a few moments before shaking it. "No…I don't think he meant any real harm." She threw him a scrutinizing look over her shoulder. "What're doing out here anyway?"

"Er, I was supposed to be getting firewood, actually." Naruto looked around the clearing as if some wood would magically appear.

"I guess you have plenty now." The girl deadpanned.

"Eh?" Naruto asked, and the Taki girl pointed behind her toward the destroyed trees.

"I guess so, heh." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. The girl sighed and shook her head.

"Just get what you need and go," she said, walking out of the clearing. Naruto shrugged at the girl's defensive behavior and gathered up an armful of wood. He made to go back to camp, only to realize he had no idea what direction to go in.

"Crap." The sun had set and the dark forest looked the same in every direction. Naruto stepped from foot to foot, deciding whether or not to send out clones when he heard the soft footfalls of the Taki girl as she retreated through the woods. He set off after her without another thought.

"Hey! Wait up!" He called after her. The sound of her footsteps stopped, and the orange eyed girl soon came into view.

"What is it?"

"Well, uh…" Naruto felt his cheeks heat up and scratched at one in idle habit. "I'm kind of lost." She looked incredulous.

"You're lost? You are a ninja, right?" Naruto glared at her sarcastic tone.

"Of course I am, dattebayo! You distracted me when I was practicing and I lost my way."

"You're kind of an idiot, aren't you?" Naruto harrumphed and spun on his heels, an annoyed anger rising in his chest.

"Whatever, I'll find my way back on my own!" He would just have to find the traces of the path he made through the trees; in the darkness. He bit back a sigh.

"Wait, wait!" The girl yelled to him. Naruto stopped and turned, finding the girl was rubbing her temples with a pained expression. "If you don't know where to go, you'll probably end up dying in these woods." As if on cue, a distant grumbling roar echoed through the trees. Naruto gulped.

"My team will start to look for me eventually." He said, more to assure himself than his new companion. Natsuko had gotten good enough to sense people, he thought.

"Well…I guess I can just leave you out on your own then." She started to walk away again.

"H-hey! Wait a minute!" She stopped again and turned. This time her lips were quirked in a small smile. Naruto realized he had been had. "Not funny…"

"My place isn't far," she said, beckoning him to follow her and he fell into step beside her. "Just…don't expect much." Naruto thought back to his own rundown apartment. Anything would be an upgrade from that.

"I'll just be glad to not be waiting alone," he said with a short chuckle. "What's your name, anyway?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Well, we're friends now, right?" The girl did not reply right away. Instead she looked toward the sky, eyes glowing in the moonlight.

"Friends…" Naruto frowned at her hesitant tone.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto," he said to distract her. "Future Hokage of Konoha, dattebayo!" Her orange eyes met his.

"Why?"

"Eh?"

"Why do you want to be Hokage?"

"So everyone in Konoha will acknowledge me." The practiced answer slipped out without even thinking about it. The green-haired girl snorted.

"That's stupid." Naruto squawked at the blunt reply. "Why would you care if people acknowledged you?" Naruto flashed back over the last two months of his life, and felt comfort and pride in the memories of being accepted by his sensei and teammates.

"Because it's an awesome feeling," he explained. The girl's gaze lingered on him for a moment before she shrugged and nodded toward the path in front of her. Naruto followed her gaze to see a grove of trees flanking a high, greenery-covered mound that was taller than Rin-sensei and at least seven meters across.

What drew his attention, though, was the large, circular door and windows that were built into mound. A trail of smoked drifted lazily toward the sky, and Naruto could see the glow of a fire through the windows. He approached it and placed a hand along the side, eyes wide. There was wood beneath the plant life.

"Fū," the girl said after a long moment of silence. Naruto tore his eyes away from the building and studied the girl, who appeared somewhat tense. "My name is Fū. This is my home."

"It's awesome! How'd you build it?"

"With a lot of work," she said with a soft smile. "And the help of a lot of friends." Naruto's eyebrows shot up in surprise as Fū pushed open the portal and stepped through. Did she just say that she did not care about anyone's acknowledgement? Everybody has their secrets. One of Rin-sensei's many lessons flitted through his mind and Naruto sighed. He would have to keep his guard up.

He followed Fū through the door and into the comforting warmth of her shelter. A fire was crackling in a small pit built into the ground in the center of the room. The flickering flames illuminated the entire home, showing it to be barely furnished. A small bed was flush against the far end of circle with a rickety-looking nightstand that held nothing but a burning candle. Fū had sat at a table and chair that looked as well used as the nightstand, and was idly sharpening a kunai.

Other than that, there was nothing else there.

Fū was focused on her kunai, so Naruto sat by the fire with a dull thump, kicking up some dirt from the uncovered floor. "So, why do you live all the way out here?" The sound of the whetstone grinding against the kunai came to a sudden halt.

"I prefer being alone." The answer was hesitant, and she offered nothing more. The sound of metal against stone sounded once more. Naruto felt confused at the girl's contradicting answers.

"I thought you said a lot of friends helped you? Someone with a lot of friends wouldn't want to be alone all the time." _Or want to be acknowledged_, he added to himself. Silence, broken only by the fire's crackle, reigned in the small home. Naruto eyed a pair of beetles that had crawled over his leg. He blinked in surprise when they stood up on their hind legs and moved their front legs in a circle. It was almost like they were _waving._

He looked toward Fū to see if she was seeing this, and found her eyes closed and hands formed into a seal. She dropped the seal and the beetles immediately scurried away from Naruto. Fū opened her eyes with a calming breath, a hint of hesitation in their orange depths.

"I can control bugs," she explained. "I used them to help build this place."

"Oh. Must have been a lot of them." Fū hummed in agreement and returned to her kunai. Naruto was at a loss for words, feeling an empathetic sadness for the green haired girl. She had to be lonely if she considered _bugs_ to be friends. "So, er, what do you do for fun?"

She ran a hand through her hair, tugging lightly on the mint green locks with a sigh. "You really like to talk, don't you?" Before Naruto could defend himself, a rustling outside drew his attention. Fū snatched up her kunai into a ready hold and squinted out the window. Naruto blinked at her quick reaction, but focused his attention on listening to the outside world.

"In there, Sensei!" Naruto grinned at Natsuko's triumphant shout. Fū had tensed up and inched toward the door, crouching into an ambush position.

"Hey, don't worry!" Naruto said to her before she skewered somebody. "That was one of my teammates." Fū frowned, but put away her kunai anyway. She stood, holding herself rigid. "Relax," he told her with a reassuring smile. She did not.

Atsuo's head appeared in a nearby window, eyes flickering across the room with a mixture of fear and nervousness. Naruto gave him a cheerful wave when the man spotted him, and recognition flashed across the ninja's features.

"Clear! He's inside, Nohara-san!" The man shouted in his shaking voice. The door slammed open, nearly catching Fū upside the head, and Rin-sensei stepped inside. As soon as she spotted him, tremendous relief flooded across her pale face, and Naruto felt a weighty guilt press down on his chest. His smile faltered as she strode toward him and grasped his shoulders in a death grip.

A calm anger smoldered in his sensei's eyes, and Naruto gulped. "What the _hell_ were you thinking going off on your own?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, and Naruto felt he would have preferred if she were yelling. "Do you have any idea what could have happened if you ran into trouble?"

"I can take care of anything that comes my way, dattebayo!" Despite the guilt, Naruto felt the need to defend himself. Rin-sensei narrowed her eyes and cuffed him on the ear.

"Don't be stupid," she practically hissed. "If you ran into a rogue chūnin or jōnin, you wouldn't stand a chance and you know it. Remind me what happens to an overconfident ninja?" Naruto hung his head at the rebuke and rubbed at his sore ear.

"They end up dead…" Naruto's voice trailed off. He had never heard Rin-sensei sound so serious before.

"Look, Naruto…" Sensei sighed, tone softening. Naruto looked up and found the usual warmth returned in the jōnin's gaze. "Someday you three will be strong enough to do things on your own, and take on more difficult missions, and even be able to wear orange without being conspicuous." Natsuko and Ayano snickered at the last, easing some of the tension in the room. Naruto grumbled about the jibe against his favorite color.

"But for now, you need to stick with your teammates, work together, and not go gallivanting around in a foreign forest full of unknown dangers when you're supposed to be gathering firewood."

"I understand, Sensei." He was still not used to having anybody to answer to, even after weeks and weeks of training. The fact that she had seemed so _worried_ drove home the fact that she actually cared for his wellbeing, which did not sink in until that moment.

It was a nice feeling.

Rin-sensei patted his shoulder with a kind smile and stood to her full height, turning toward Fū. The mint-haired girl looked completely flustered. "Sorry for barging in like this, but I'm sure you can understand our sense of urgency."

"Sure…" Fū replied, glancing between the five of them with a lost look in her eyes. She was gripping her kunai so tight that her knuckles had turned white. Naruto frowned.

"Still, I thank you for watching after my student." Sensei offered a short bow. Fū nodded in return. "We'll head out now."

"Wait a moment, Nohara-san." Atsuo's spoke for the first time, tapping his chin in thought. "Wouldn't it be easier to just stay for the night? After all, this young lady appears to be a shinobi of Takigakure. We're supposed to meet their representative tomorrow anyway…" Rin-sensei shot the man a sharp glance, and Naruto guessed she was not pleased he revealed their intentions. Still…it was cozy here…

"That's a great idea!" Naruto interjected before either Sensei or Fū could object. "I bet Fū-chan would love the company."

Fū gave him an incredulous look. "Drop the 'chan.'" Her tone brooked no arguments. Naruto grinned, sheepishly running a hand along the back of his head. "But I guess it would be…right to give allies shelter…"

"Great!" Naruto plopped back down to the dirt floor, lying down by the fire. "So," he said, rolling over to look at his host. "Have any ramen?" Fū blinked, Sensei sighed, and Natsuko smacked a palm to her forehead. Atsuo just looked lost.

"Idiot…" Ayano muttered.

* * *

"So, how much further until we get to the meeting point?" Naruto asked, huffing and puffing, as the six of them moved at a leisurely pace along the road. He was carrying _all_ their equipment as punishment for his disappearing act.

"We're almost to the meeting point," Atsuo said, studying a map. "Right, Fū-san?"

"If your map is right, yes," the Taki girl said. She had only agreed to help guide them after constant prodding from Atsuo. It would be "good for relations," he claimed. Naruto just thought Atsuo had no idea where he was going.

"Why can't we just go to the village?" Natsuko asked, her staff twirling through the air.

"Takigakure is a very…_secretive_ village." Sensei explained. "There are not a lot of shinobi, so they keep the village's location a secret to ward off attacks."

"Aren't we allies, though?" Ayano asked.

"Shibuki is more paranoid than his father," Fū said with a bitter note in her tone. "I'm surprised he even agreed to this meeting."

"Shouldn't you look to your leader with a bit more respect, Fū-san?" Atsuo admonished the girl. Fū shrugged and adjusted the bag on her shoulder, eyes locked on the path ahead. Naruto did not really know what to think of the girl. On the one hand she was standoffish and aggressive, but on the other she was kind enough to give him shelter and act as a guide.

Even if she grumbled about it.

"I've been meaning to ask, Motoike-san," Ayano said. "What are these talks even for? Rin-sensei never said."

"That's because they're classified," a new voice interrupted. Naruto, Ayano, and Natsuko immediately formed a defensive triangle around Atsuo while Rin-sensei scanned the area. Fū looked mildly entertained at their reaction.

A tall teenager with long, shaggy brown hair pulled back into a ponytail dropped down from the nearby trees. He wore a rich green kimono over grey trousers, and a Takigakure hitai-ate was secured to his forehead. The teenager was flanked by an older man and woman in full black attire except for light blue flak vests and Takigakure hitai-ates. Naruto eased his defensive stance at the familiar symbol.

"I think that's the first time you've ever scared someone, Shibuki," Fū said, her amusement clear. The female jōnin bristled in irritation.

"You will address Shibuki-sama with the proper respect, girl," the female jōnin said in a hiss.

"I did," Fū countered, hands on her hips. The jōnin took a step forward, but Shibuki held out an arm and she fell back.

"Enough," he declared in a shaky voice. "Not in front of our…guests." He shuffled from foot to foot while looking them over. Naruto found himself agreeing with Fū's opinion of the man. He sounded as nervous as Atsuo did! After a moment Shibuki stepped forward and bowed. "I am honored to accept the honored ambassadors of Konohagakure."

"It's an honor to be accepted, Shibuki-sama," Atsuo declared, returning the bow. "I trust my colleague has sent word ahead with the details?" Shibuki snapped to attention.

"Y-yes!" He said with a pained smile. "Word came just this morning, actually." Naruto shared a glance between his teammates, but they looked as skeptical as he felt.

"Splendid!" Atsuo said with a clap. "Things should go smoothly then. Shall we?"

"Right this way…" Shibuki waved Atsuo ahead of him. He gave the rest of them an apologetic look. "I'm afraid I can only let Motoike-san into the village," he told them.

"I understand," Rin-sensei said with a reassuring smile.

"Shouldn't we go with them?" Naruto asked. He was doubtful Atsuo could handle himself.

"Don't you worry, Naruto-kun," Atsuo said, patting him on the shoulder. "If anything happens, I'm sure these jōnin will protect me." The woman held herself taller at the claim, but the man did not seem to be paying attention. Instead, he was looking at Natsuko with his head cocked slightly to left, a half smile on his face and recognition in his dark eyes. Natsuko shrank under his gaze, her knuckles white around her staff. Naruto felt the need to step between the two.

Ayano beat him to the punch, and as soon as she did the man shook his head and spoke. "Motoike will safe with us," he said in a gruff voice." Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man. He seemed unaffected.

"W-we should be off." The two jōnin and Atsuo nodded at Shibuki, and leapt off after a quick bow.

"Rin-sensei, are you sure?" Ayano asked, casting a sidelong glance at Natsuko. "Do we know we can trust them?"

"Our mission is to escort him to and from Taki." Sensei said, eyes following the foursome as they shrank from sight. "In between, he is under Taki's care. They don't want to provoke Konoha, so Motoike-san will be safe. Trust me." Rin-sensei ruffled Ayano's hair, and the girl blushed. "Good job looking out for your teammate, by the way."

"That guy gave me the creeps…" Natsuko shivered as she spoke, finally relaxing her grip on her staff.

"Did you sense them coming?" Sensei asked, turning to the brunette. Natsuko bit her lip, looking in the direction the four ninja had run off.

"No…I was resting before they got here." She fidgeted her hands.

"Don't worry about," the jōnin said with a gentle tone. "Just keep working on it, okay?" The girl gave an eager nod. "Good reaction time you three, by the way." The three teammates shared a quick grin at the praise.

"So what do we do until they're done?" Ayano asked, already pulling out a scroll from one of the packs on Naruto's back.

"We wait. You can take those off now, Naruto." With a whoop of joy, Naruto let the heavy packs drop to the ground, flopping down after them.

"So much better." He glanced around at his companions and found Natsuko taking a meditative pose, Ayano spreading out her scroll, Sensei digging through one of the packs, and Fū looking in the direction the Taki ninjas and Atsuo went with a scrutinizing look on her face. "What's wrong?" She did not seem to hear him. "Fū?"

The sound of her name snapped her back to reality. "What?"

"I asked what was wrong." The other three were giving her curious looks as well now.

"Nothing…" She trailed off, taking a seat on the hard ground. "It's just that Shibuki was acting really nervous, even by his standards."

"Well, he _is _a young man," Sensei said. "I'm sure he hasn't had much experience in diplomatic relations, let alone with a larger village like Konoha."

"Yeah, I guess…" Fū said, but did not look convinced

"Who was that creepy guy, anyway?" Naruto asked.

"No idea," Fū said, nonchalant. Naruto's head snapped in her direction, alarmed.

"No idea? Don't you recognize one of your own?" The other three looked mildly alarmed, and Fū blushed, avoiding their gazes.

"I don't get to the village that much." She explained. "Besides, don't tell me you know _every_ ninja in your village?" She crossed her arms just under her modest chest.

"I guess not…" Naruto lied back down, glancing between the rest of his team. Something about this situation just did not sit right with him and he wondered if any of them were as uneasy as he was. He sighed softly. There was nothing he could do about it.

For now.

* * *

Rin sat with a content smile, watching over the four genin with a keen eye. They had moved off the path to a nearby pond to set up camp. The soft orange glow of the setting sun shined off of a small, trickling waterfall that was the only sound in the camp besides the four young ninja sparring, and Rin felt her anxiousness leave her at the serene scene. For her first foray back into the world in years, the mission had gone remarkably smooth.

"I thought you wanted to be Hokage! You'll have to do better!" Fū taunted her opponent, though her words lacked any malice. Four Narutos were attacking her, who warded off their attacks with fluid movements. Naruto's taijutsu had improved leaps and bounds, but the girl clearly had a higher skill as she managed to hold her ground against multiple opponents. Naruto's incoherent shouts filled their camp as he attacked and Rin shook her head. That would probably never change.

"Stay still!" A frustrated Natsuko yelled, chasing down the ever-retreating Ayano. The two were playing a game of cat and mouse while Natsuko tried to close the gap between them to engage the redhead with her staff, but Ayano kept the shorter girl at bay with a barrage of skillfully thrown kunai and shuriken.

Ayano's strength was not close combat and the girl knew it. Instead she dedicated herself to being the best support ninja she could be. Rin was proud that the young girl had taken a shine to the basic medical jutsu scrolls she had provided for the girl. Though she would probably teach the basics to all of her genin eventually…

"I've got you now!" Naruto's shout drew her attention. A wide circle of clones surrounded Fū, who was under a heated attack from another Naruto. They had somehow managed to fight their way on top of the pond.

"**Fūton**!" Rin's eyes widened as each of the clones raced to complete the series of seals and the real Naruto tackled Fū.

"Naruto, wait!" She called, leaping to her feet and toward the two, but it was already too late.

"**Daitoppa!**" The clones unleashed the attack, creating a maelstrom as the techniques clashed against each other. The spiraling wind drew up water from the pond, spraying it at a high speed in all directions. Caught off guard, Rin was hit by a stream and knocked from her feet. The startles yells of Natsuko and Ayano told her they did not escape the water's wrath either.

When she regained her senses moments later, the attack had ended and _everything_ was soaked. Naruto's clones had been dispelled while the real one swayed on his feet, hands held out for balance. Fū was on her hands and knees, gasping for breath through hacking coughs. Ayano and Natsuko sat a few feet away, bedraggled and dripping.

"What part of 'don't go overboard' didn't you get, Naruto?" Rin asked, wringing out her hair. Naruto dropped to the ground, losing his fight with dizziness.

"Sorry Sensei!" He said with a cheeky grin. He sounded anything but.

"Baka," Natsuko declared, inspecting her soaked clothes with a grimace.

"Why'd you even think of using it like that?" Ayano asked. She had run over to their packs and was checking through their contents. Luckily the water had not reached that far.

Naruto shrugged. "Well, I had to do _something, _and it seemed like a good idea!"

"Well…you got me," Fū said, pushing her green hair behind her ears. She sat back and breathed deep, lungs finally clear. "I was _not_ expecting that!" The girl gave a soft smile to Naruto. Rin grinned. It had taken most of the day, but the Taki girl had warmed up to them.

"Incoming," Natsuko's sudden interruption had them all on alert, and Rin heard the rustling of feet moving through the trees. Her heart picked up as all possible scenarios raced through her mind.

"How many?" She whispered the question, making a note to add hand signals to the list of things to teach the kids. Natsuko held up two fingers and Rin nodded, turning her full attention to the incoming ninja. She felt the four of them take up positions behind her.

She breathed a quiet sigh relief moments later when Atsuo and the male Taki jōnin stepped through the trees. Atsuo blinked in surprise when he noticed them in battle ready position, and his jōnin companion looked bored.

"Expecting a fight?" Nervousness crept in Atsuo's voice and he gazed back into the forest as if an enemy was going to jump at him at any moment.

"Just being cautious," she said, relaxing. Atsuo did not look convinced and Rin had to hold back a sigh. The man's cowardice and demeanor irked her, but his file had claimed him to be a top notch negotiator, so she held her tongue. "How did the negotiations go?"

"Oh fine, fine," the chūnin said, moving further into camp. The kids had crowded around the fire in an attempt to dry off. She noted with a smile that they were paying attention. "Shibuki is only being stubborn on a single, but that should be hammered out by tomorrow. I have no doubt he'll give us what we came here for," he said with a smile, taking a seat by the fire as well.

"That's…good." Politics had never been her thing. "We'll be ahead of schedule, then."

"Seems so." Atsuo nodded, holding his hands close the crackling flames. Three genin did the same on the opposite side. Rin's eyebrows shot up. Where was…

"What's your name anyway?" Rin looked over her shoulder to find Naruto standing in front of the Taki ninja with narrowed eyes. The jōnin kept a neutral expression.

"None of your business kid," he said in a gruff voice. Naruto's jaw and fists clenched and Rin stood up, ready to interfere. The jōnin looked between her and Naruto before rolling his eyes. "I'll come back in the morning, Motoike." With that, the man used a **Shunshin**, disappearing in a puff of dust.

"What are you thinking, Naruto?" Rin asked, rubbing at her pounding temple. That boy was going to cause an international incident at this rate.

"I don't like that guy." Naruto said with a growl.

"You don't have to," Rin said. "But you do have to be civil." The blonde harrumphed, but nodded. He returned to the fire, sitting by Fū and engaging the girl in a frenzied, whispered conversation. Rin narrowed her eyes, but did not interrupt.

"That boy's going to get into trouble one day," Atsuo whispered to her. Rin grimaced, but could not disagree. She sighed as the sun dipped below the horizon and could not help but notice that the relaxing atmosphere of the camp had all but disappeared.

* * *

"This is a brilliant plan!" Naruto said, hands resting behind his head as they walked through the woods. Fū rolled her eyes at the boy's excitement.

"We're only tracking them," she said with a small smile. Despite her best efforts, she could not help liking the blonde boy and his team. It did not hurt that they actually treated her like a person, actual and whole.

"_**Don't get too attached, Fū-chan,**_" the familiar voice of her tenant rumbled its warning through her mind, and Fū sighed. Even though she knew better, she had started to _hope_.

"Yeah, but we'll get to know what they're being all secretive about."

"You're Sensei's definitely going to notice…" Naruto waved her off.

"It'll be too late by then!" Fū shook her head in amusement. She had only gone along with his plan because he had begged the night before. They had snuck out to trail after Atsuo and Shibuki's bodyguard ten minutes after they had left in the morning. Getting away from Rin had been surprisingly easy.

They soon came upon the large waterfall that hid the entrance to Taki. Going into the village was the part of the plan she was least looking forward to. She stepped out onto the water, Naruto trailing behind.

"The entrance isn't actually behind a waterfall, is it?" Naruto asked, deadpan. Fū was surprised when she giggled. "_Really?_ Then why are you guys so desperate to keep it hidden?"

"Well, nobody knows _which_ waterfall, right?" Fū offered as she stepped around the cascading falls and into the hidden cavern behind it. Naruto 'ahh'd' at the site, and Fū led him up the familiar path to one of the many branching caves. She felt her heartbeat quicken as they got closer and closer to the village, and internally cursed herself for the weakness.

"You're going to want to hold your breath," she said as they came upon a pool of water. "Just stick close to me, and head up." She dove into the murky depths, habit leading her through the narrow path and out into the open lake where the water cleared. She dodged the roots of the Great Tree and broke the surface with a gasping breath. Moments later, Naruto did the same.

"Whoa!" He said with a gasp, staring at the gigantic tree that grew out of the center of the lake, its canopy shielding the rest of the village. "That tree is _huge_." He was straining his neck to look all the way to the top.

"Come on." She tugged on one of his sleeves to get his attention. "Shibuki's office is on the other side of the village." She pointed in the distance to the only building that was more than two stories tall. Naruto nodded and the two swam toward the closest shore. Fū grimaced when she realized that it was peak time at the marketplace. The bustling vendors did not give them much of a chance to go unseen.

She tried to ignore the stares as she and Naruto moved through the narrow streets, but she still felt the familiar hurt and disappointment creep up. People gave them a wide berth as they moved from stall to stall, and whispers broke out whenever someone noticed them. She had thought becoming a ninja would lessen everyone's hostility toward her, but, if anything, it had only gotten worse in the year since she earned her hitai-ate.

"_**Sorry, Fū-chan**_." Fū could almost picture the giant beetle putting all seven tails between its legs and sighed. It wasn't at fault for being put in her belly, but she still cursed her fate for being chosen as a host.

"Is everyone in the village usually this angry?" Naruto asked, shifting under all the glares and suspicious whispers that followed them.

"Only when I'm here." She tried to sound strong, but her voice came out as a whisper. She felt Naruto's stare boring into the back of her head, but forced herself to ignore it and keep up her pace. "Shibuki's place is just ahead."

"Right…" As soon as they passed the main road, the duo broke into a run for the tall building. It was set apart from the rest of the village and was surrounded by a low wall that was more for show than to actually keep people out. The two of them leapt the small with ease and crept through the small grounds.

Fū knew that Shibuki's office was on the top floor at the back of the building, and was also aware that the only guards would be posted _inside_. Never being infiltrated by an enemy did wonders for lapses in security, she thought with a grin.

"Okay," she said as they snuck along the back wall of the building. "Shibuki's office is directly above us."

"There's a ledge before each floor." Naruto noted with a grin. Fū rolled her eyes at his obvious observation. The roof was mirrored between each floor, acting as a ledge.

"It should be window on the corner, let's go." It was child's play to climb the ledges and sneak up to the proper window. They shared a quick grin before inching their eyes over the edge of the portal. Shibuki was pacing behind his desk, looking half-panicked, while Atsuo and the male jōnin sat across from him, calm as could be.

"…outrageous request!" He said, a nervous frown on his face. Atsuo and the jōnin shared a glance before the Konoha ninja sighed.

"Shibuki, my dear _boy_." Fū's eyes widened in surprise at Atsuo's confident voice. "I think you'll find our master's request to be perfectly _reasonable_. I would go so far as to call it generous!"

"Generous?" Shibuki scoffed. "You're asking me to give up my village's most prize possession!"

"Not without payment," the jōnin's gruff voice countered.

"My lord has kindly offered to sponsor your village, and he humbly asks for only two things in return."

"Kindly offered?" Shibuki shook his head and sank into his seat. "Threats are kind offers now?" Naruto and Fū shared a confused look.

"Yes, well." Atsuo adjusted his hitai-ate with a bemused smile. "I would say it was more of a promise. You know exactly what he is capable of." Shibuki leaned forward, elbows resting on his desk and face in his hands.

"I don't have much manpower," he said at length, sounding resigned. The grin Atsuo and the jōnin shared sent shivers down Fū's spine.

"Any you can spare will do," Atsuo said with a clap, rubbing his hands together. "And the other condition?" Shibuki reached a hesitant hand into his desk and pulled out two small bottles filled with a crystal clear liquid. Fū's eyes widened

"Water?" Naruto whispered.

"Hero's water…" Fū was shocked. Shibuki was a coward, but to be willing to give up the biggest secret of the village?

"Excellent, excellent." Atsuo snatched the bottles away from Shibuki's trembling hand, giving one to the jōnin. The leader looked to be on the verge of tears.

"Satoshi has bravely volunteered to stay by your side throughout this whole ordeal, Shibuki-kun." Atsuo's cheerily declared, placing a hand on the jōnin's shoulder. Satoshi's grin was predatory.

"Wh-when is this going to happen?"

"Tsk, tsk. So many questions." Atsuo admonished. "You will know the when, where, and how when you need to. But rest assured, you will receive everything you've earned after Konoha is reduced to ash."

"WHAT?!" Fū would have smacked Naruto if her heart had not leapt through her chest. The three heads inside the room snapped in their direction. Shibuki looked shamed, Atsuo looked mildly annoyed, and Satoshi _licked his lips_.

"Idiot!" She yelled, grabbing Naruto and leaping down from the building. "We have to go, _now_!" She did not exactly understand what was going on, but she knew in her gut that her new friends had just been put in mortal danger.

"Sorry," Naruto muttered as they ran. He was pale and his brows were furrowed in thought. It was obvious he was trying to piece things together as well. Atsuo was clearly a traitor, but who was he with?

She led Naruto to a small grove of trees, knowing they needed to plan out their next move. "We should be okay here for a few minutes," she whispered. They needed to get out of the village, but they could not use the path they had used to come in. Fū wracked her brain trying to remember another way, cursing herself for never spending time learning the ins and outs of the village.

"I don't get it," Naruto said. "Why would Atsuo turn traitor?"

"I don't know. Shibuki is a coward, but he never broke his word before." Fū whispered back. "We have to warn your sensei."

"We need to get out of the village!"

"They'll be waiting at the path we used. They'll be much faster than us."

"Well, we can't stay here. We'll have to make a break for it."

"On the count of three, then?" Naruto nodded and they counted down together. As soon as they said three, they shot off out of the grove, chakra-enhanced strides carrying them through the village. They sped through the main road, knocking people out of their way, and the lake soon came into view. Fū felt hope bloom in her chest when there was no sign of either enemy.

"Got you!" That hope was dashed in the split second the harsh voice split the air. Satoshi was suddenly in front of them, a sadistic grin on his face and a sword in his hand. Before either of them could react, he had stabbed Naruto right through the stomach.

Fū's scream of horror died in her throat when Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke. She made a mental note to be annoyed at forgetting he was a clone later. At that moment she used Satoshi's shocked stupor as a means to reverse direction and speed away.

_Could really use a boost here, Chōmei_. Even her thoughts sounded frantic.

"_**It **_**is**_** an emergency…**_" The stingy bijū replied, and Fū felt the Nanabi's chakra flood her system. The familiar sensation of chakra tails sprouting from her back came a moment later and Fū leapt and _flew_.

_Thank you_, she thought to her constant companion.

"_**You owe me, Fū-chan**_."

* * *

Naruto blinked and froze as memories came pouring in. Unfortunately for him, this gave Natsuko the perfect opening, and her staff crashed into his gut at full force.

"Got you!" The brunette cheered as Naruto doubled over in pain even as his clone's panic flooded his system.

"Rin-sensei!" He shouted with dismay clear in his voice. Natsuko stopped her victory dance, and Rin-sensei and Ayano paused their spar as well.

"What's the matter?" Naruto locked eyes with his sensei, panic giving way to anger.

"Atsuo is a traitor."

* * *

**A/N: So what did you all think? You got a heavy dose of Naruto in this chapter as he received a few choice lessons about maturity, responsibility, and handling "oh shit" moments. **

**That said, you also got a heaping helping of Fū as well! How do you like her so far? She's practically an OC, but I've tried to incorporate everything we know about her when I planned her character out. Let me know what you think!**

**I also tried to sprinkle in a bit more humor, as well as dabbling with longer scenes. How'd that work out?  
**

**This is about the halfway point in the Takigakure arc, so I figure another chapter or two left to go. Next up, major action! Until then, please review! (Use ALL the exclamation points!)**


	6. Hello, Kyūbi

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I profit from this work. I'm merely using it as an exercise to improve my writing and for my own and others enjoyment.**

**A/N: Here's your first real action packed chapter! Please read, enjoy, and let me know what you think!  
**

* * *

**Team Rin**

**Chapter 06**

**Hello, Kyūbi  
**

* * *

Rin was reeling after Naruto explained the searched her memories of the man, how few there were, looking for any indication of Atsuo's duplicity. She had not cared, she realized, having brushed him off as a cowardly chūnin. She ground her teeth together with a growl.

Damn it, she was smarter than that!

"Rin-sensei?" Ayano's unsure voice brought her back to the present. She ran through the scenario in her mind, years of training and habits forming possible solutions. They were betrayed, two hostile ninjas were engaging the only known friendly in Takigakure, and the rest of the population was of unsure loyalty. Coerced or not, Shibuki could no longer be trusted.

Her instincts told her to charge in, rescue the friendly, and get the hell out, but the information _had_ to be brought back to Konoha, and she was the only one with combat experience. Logic left only one viable choice and it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

She opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated at the combination of fear and fierce determination that shined from her genins' eyes. _Those who abandon friends and allies are less than trash. That's what I learned from Obito_. Kakashi's words, spoken so long ago, left an odd combination of anxiousness and excitement in her belly. Visions of her own capture on that disastrous mission flooded her mind, and Rin knew exactlywhat she had to do. This was going to be a lesson her students would never forget.

"Screw logic," she whispered, looking over each of her students in turn. Was this the right call? Would they all survive? What if she could not protect them? Rin let herself panic for half a breath before she pushed the doubt away. There would be time for it later. "If we're going to do this, we're going to do it _right_." Her tone had the genin at full attention.

"You three will act as _support_ until I say otherwise, clear?" Three sharp nods. "We are going to get into Taki, get Fū, and capture Atsuo. But if something happens and I tell you to retreat without me, you _will _go. Understood?"

"Yes Sensei!" They chorused.

"Let's go, then." A shadow clone popped into existence in a puff of smoke and wasted no time in sprinting away. Rin fell in step behind, and her students raced behind her. "Naruto?" She called without turning behind her. "What can I expect for terrain?"

"Er, well, we'll be coming out of a lake?" She held back a sigh and grimaced. Both at Naruto's lack of reconnaissance skills and the idea of being surrounded by water. Water techniques were not exactly her area of expertise.

"Anything else?" She prompted. It was yet another thing to work on for her three.

"The village is sort of tucked away under a big, _big_ tree. Shibuki's place is on the far end from the secret entrance, but I didn't really pay attention at the time…" She nodded, sparing a glance behind her to see Naruto's guilt stricken face.

"It's alright," she said to him. "Stay focused on the task at hand." Possible scenarios raced through her mind, but she knew none of them were viable until she saw the village herself.

"We're almost there," the clone shouted. A large rock face loomed ahead of them, with a dazzling waterfall cascading down its smooth surface and into a crystal clear pond. Rin would have appreciated the beauty of the scene under any other circumstance.

The clone sprinted across the water, and Rin had a passing moment of pride when it did not need to break its pace from the transition from ground to water. It rushed through the waterfall without slowing down, and Rin followed, passing through the water into the cavern beyond. They ascended the rocks with chakra enhanced jumps, and arrived at a pool that Naruto said would lead into the village.

"Natsuko?" She asked as they stood around the small body of water painted a deep navy. The brunette squinted her eyes shut, turning her head as if to listen to the village beyond.

"There are three people fighting," she said after a short moment. "A bunch of others are watching from a distance."

"Can you tell how strong they are?" Natsuko focused harder, sweat dripping from her brow, but shook her head in defeat.

"No, sorry Sensei…"

"You did well," Rin assured the girl with a half smile. Natsuko nodded, and the frustration left her face, somewhat.

"Ayano." Rin reached into one of her many utility pockets, searching for a specific vial. The redhead stood at attention, arms rigid at her sides. "You have the best aim with ranged weapons." The girl blushed lightly and Rin grinned when her hand grazed smooth glass. "You are to coat a weapon with this-" She handed the small vial to the girl, who held it in a gentle grasp. "And use it only when you have a clear shot. It is an extremely powerful paralytic-"

"One's coming closer Sensei!" Ayano interrupted, panic edging into her voice. "Fast!" Rin's eyes locked onto the dark pool, hands already moving through familiar seals as the surge of adrenaline flooded her system.

"Tell me when he gets close…" She hissed, focusing on converting her chakra to her native element. Her upper body grew hot as fire chakra built up in her upper _tenketsu_.

"Now!"

"**Katon: Hibashiri!**" Her voice echoed as chakra burst through system and a violent surge of fire streamed from her mouth, hitting the surface water and whipping up a cloud of steam. Rin kept tight control of her chakra reserves, using only enough to heat the water to unbearable temperatures.

"He's moving away!" Natsuko declared and Rin grinned behind the flames, cutting off the technique. She crouched by the steaming water, one hand held just above the surface while the other wiped sweat from her brow.

"They were going to pursue us," she informed her genin. "We just lost the element of surprise, but, with any luck, whoever that was is a bit more singed now."

"He's back with the other two now." Natsuko had her eyes squeezed shut, fingers rubbing circles on her temples. "Two of them are ganging up on the third." Her voice trembled and Rin knew the girl was using a lot of her chakra to stay that focused.

"Enough, Natsuko," she gently admonished. "Save some for the fight." The girl gave a wary nod, grey eyes full of apprehension.

"We have to get in there!" Naruto was bouncing from foot to foot, staring at her with desperate eyes. She dipped a hand into the hot water, finding it tolerable.

"Let's go then. Remember what I said." With that, she dove in, ignoring every nerve of her body to get out of the scalding water. Three yelps of surprise or pain, distorted through the water, told her that the three teens had followed her into the blistering depths.

Rin pushed chakra through her feet and hands, barreling through the water at breakneck speeds. The underwater cave she had found herself in soon widened and she was surrounded by nothing but the hazy depths of a lake. Contorting her body, her momentum jetted her through the surface of the water to the sky. She analyzed the scene in a split moment.

Fū was _flying_ above the water, dodging and maneuvering around kunai, shuriken, and water ninjutsu being bombarded at her by Atsuo. A telltale whistle assaulted her ears and Rin drew a kunai and deflected the metal soaring at her vital points with deadly intents. Below her, a man she recognized as one of Shibuki's bodyguards was snarling at her. His skin shone an angry red and Rin grinned as gravity brought her back down. She tossed the kunai and the man dodged backward, toward shore.

She landed in a crouch on the surface of the water, quickly bouncing to the side as her opponent volleyed another round of shuriken toward her. There were three splashes in quick succession that told her the genin had caught up. The enemy eyed them with a grin that turned Rin's stomach.

"**Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu**!" Three balls of raging orange and yellow jettisoned toward the man. It was a weak technique, meant for little more than distractions, but it forced her opponent closer to the shore.

And _away_ from her students.

"You guys need to _go_!" Fū's yell sounded across the lake, her movements in the air fluid and graceful. Rin was almost transfixed by the waves of orange chakra that surrounded the girl and formed her insect-like wings.

"Naruto filled us in," she said, focusing on her opponent. He looked happy enough to wait for her to attack. "And we're not in the habit of leaving allies behind!"

"How sweet." Atsuo's voice had taken on a condescending air. "The will of fire is always so heartwarming."He leapt back as Fū took the opportunity to lunge at him. The girl missed, slicing into the water, causing a roaring splash. A soaked Atsuo jumped away from the lake, casting a wary glance at the darkened depths.

He landed next to his partner on the shore, and Fū burst from the water, her aura gone. She landed next to Rin, her breaths heavy.

"I was trying to buy you guys some time to get away," she said, eyes locked on the duo of enemy ninjas.

Rin shrugged. "Thanks for that, but I don't like to leave my people behind."

"I'm _not_ your people," Fū said with a hint of desperation in her voice. She jabbed her Taki hitai-ate in emphasis.

"You are now." Naruto said, giving the green haired girl a hard look. "We're friends, right?" The girl opened and closed her mouth, but no sound came out.

"Naruto's right," Natsuko said with a bright smile that belied their situation. Ayano nodded her agreement and Rin swelled in pride for a moment.

"**Suiton: Mizu no Shuriken!**" A sudden barrage of shuriken formed of water soared at the group, and they scattered. Her genin and Fū ended up further out on the lake while Rin had moved toward shore. "Take care of the jōnin, Satoshi!" Atsuo barked the order to his partner. Rin heard Natsuko's gasp, but could not look back before Satoshi was on her, throwing a punch with a laugh.

Rin bent back at the waist and her opponent's fist glided through open air. She shifted her weight onto her hands and sent a vicious double kick to the man's open gut, cutting off his laughter and sending him flying backwards. She flipped back up and ran after Satoshi, kunai in hand. If she could finish this quickly, the children would not have to hold off Atsuo for long.

Satoshi had landed on his feet, wiping blood from his chin with a sickening grin. Rin grimaced. She hated fighting his type. Her footing shifted from water to land and she brought her kunai to bear, held in a reverse grip. Satoshi drew a short sword and met her kunai mid swing, the cling of metal grinding against metal ringing in her ears.

Rin placed a second hand on her kunai, struggling to gain leverage against the larger weapon. Satoshi grinned, and Rin felt her feet sink into the ground, throwing her off balance. Satoshi's sword flashed away from her kunai, and Rin forced herself to fall backward to avoid the slash. She winced as the steel grazed her cheek, but a cut was better than losing her head.

With feet on either of her sides, Satoshi arced a powerful stab in an overhead swing. Rin caught the blow with the flat of her kunai and glanced at her feet. They had sunken into the earth up to her ankles. She gave a sharp yank and her feet came free, letting her knee Satoshi in the backside. The enemy ninja rolled forward and off of her.

"Pure earth chakra manipulation…" She muttered as she regained her feet. If he could do that with his feet and no hand seals, he would be a tough opponent. Satoshi gave her no more time to think and was on her again, sword and eyes both flashing with deadly intent.

Rin met the attack but kept on the move, intent on not getting stuck in one of Satoshi's earth traps again. Satoshi was hot on her heels and she knew she could not put distance between them with just running. She fended off his sword strikes with her kunai held in her right hand and formed seals with her left. It would not be as effective, but…

"**Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu.**" The weak fireball spilled from her mouth, and Satoshi slipped to the right to dodge, cutting the fireballs with his sword if they got too close. Rin was already forming another jutsu, superheated chakra rising in her chest.

"**Katon: Gōkyakyū no Jutsu!**" A fireball twice the size of her opponent formed in front of Rin, and she wasted no time in sending it hurtling towards the man. It covered the distance between them in seconds and she heard him grunt in surprise. The attack exploded, covering their battlefield in smoke.

Rin stood stock still, listening for any sign of her opponent. Long moments of quiet ticked by, the only noise coming from the distant battle between Atsuo and the genin. Rin's eyes widened when a spike of earth broke through smoke right in front of her and she had to throw herself backwards to avoid the deadly projectile. A second one jetted toward her, and then another, and another.

Rin danced between the barrage of stone and the smoke cleared. Satoshi was standing atop an earthen wall, hands locked in the _ram_ seal. The spikes were forming and launching from the wall, and they seemed to be picking up speed.

"Shit…" She hissed as one of the spikes nicked her arm, and another her leg. She hoped the genin were having better luck than her.

* * *

Natsuko lowered herself into a stance, staff held at the ready. Ayano, Naruto, and Fū stood beside her and adopted their own stances. Atsuo was standing a good dozen meters away, an amused smile on his face.

"Four against one? Where's your sense of fair play?" His tone was light, condescending, and he made no move to attack them. Natsuko's gaze slipped behind the man fighting with Rin-sensei and her breath hitched. Ever since Atsuo had called him Satoshi, her head had been spinning. It was only now that she saw how he resembled her parents' assailant's picture in the bingo book. Eyes, hair, build, scars. They all matched, and Natsuko tensed, the prospect of revenge crossing her mind.

"Fū," Ayano whispered, eyes still locked on the waiting Atsuo. "Can you still do the flying jutsu?" Natsuko shook her head, and focused on the opponent in front of her. She would have to trust Rin-sensei to take him out.

"I…" The girl closed her eyes, jaw tightening. Her face tensed for a moment before relaxing. "Yes, I can." Ayano nodded, let out a breath, and glanced to Natsuko. The fire in the redhead's eyes filled Natsuko with confidence.

"Point?" She asked the taller girl. Ayano nodded and Natsuko took a moment to calm herself. She would have to trust Rin-sensei to take care of Satoshi.

Even if he took on both her parents and brother and won.

"Naruto?"

"Leave it to me," Naruto's cheery grin flashed and two clones popped into existence behind him. Fū's crimson aura formed and the girl leapt to the air. Atsuo's hands dropped to his sides, but his expression did not change. Natsuko and the real Naruto shared a glance, nodded, and charged.

Natsuko lashed out with her staff, aiming high. Naruto and his clones went after the man's legs. Atsuo contorted himself in a jump, dodging both attacks and landing clean on the surface. Natsuko brought her staff down, but he caught it with a hastily drawn kunai. They locked for a moment and the clones dove in for a grapple, but again the chūnin jumped clear from their advances.

He was forced to stay on the move as Ayano lobbed shuriken from behind him and Fū corralled him with weapons thrown from above, driving him back toward Naruto and Natsuko. The two unleashed another offensive barrage, but, despite attacks from four different angles, Atsuo was able to keep up and avoid taking a blow.

But his smile had disappeared.

Natsuko was a blur of motion, intent on finishing off this opponent and take on the man who had injured her parents. Still, Atsuo was able to meet each of her blows and fend off Naruto at the same time. Each moment there appeared to be an opening, either Ayano or Fū attacked, but Atsuo still managed to avoid taking a significant hit.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" Naruto formed more clones as Natsuko kept Atsuo engaged with the spinning motions of her bōjutsu. From the cheers the clones shouted a moment later, Natsuko estimated that at least a dozen had popped into existence.

Atsuo gave ground to Natsuko's attacks, hands weaving through a series of seals. "**Suiton: Suiben!**" Water rose up from the lake to Atsuo's hands, forming a gleaming stream. He spun in a circle and the water whipped out, but Natsuko used her staff to launch herselfabove the attack.

Naruto and his clones were not so lucky. A dozen puffs of smoke formed as the whip ripped through the clones and the original was sent flying back, skipping across the surface like a stone. The man held his whip loose in one hand, a taunting grin crossing his features. Natsuko growled and charged again.

Atsuo laughed. "Is this the best you four can come up with? I've faced stronger—" Fū came up from beneath the surface, drilling Atsuo in the chin with a powerful punch. The chūnin was sent flying back, and Natsuko did not waste the opportunity. She leapt above the man and swung her staff down with all her might. The man's eyes widened in pain as the wood made solid contact, and he was sent rocketing beneath the water.

Atsuo was back above the surface in moments, clutching his stomach and wearing a devious grin. "Not bad, not bad!" He complimented, hands already forming new seals. "Let's see how you do with _this_!" Naruto sent clones after the chūnin, hoping to catch him before he finished his jutsu, but it was too late. Natsuko braced herself for the inevitable impact.

"**Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!**" A giant torrent of water rose before Atsuo and rushed at them with blinding speed. Natsuko leapt back, but her ankle was caught in the maelstrom. She was whipped back, her back slamming painfully against the water beneath her. Her breath was cut off as her world became nothing but the surging water around her. Up and down had no meaning and she fought desperately for breath.

When the jutsu ended almost a full minute later, Natsuko gasped in a miraculous lungful of air. She groaned and sat up, coughing and trying to gain her senses. Her redheaded teammate was next to her on her hands and knees, spluttering for breath.

Naruto and Fū had somehow avoided the raging waves.

Ayano grasped a handful of shuriken and ran back out onto the water, rejoining the fight as Atsuo drove Naruto and Fū back. Natsuko was about to rush back in, but hesitated when she heard her Sensei's battle cry. She looked between the two fights, indecision freezing time for a single breath. Her sense of duty played against the desire for revenge in her mind, and she was frozen in indecision. At that moment, Rin-sensei delivered a savage punch to Satoshi's jaw, and Natsuko knew which fight she wanted to join.

"**Doton: Nebari no Numa…**" She whispered, hands contorting through clumsy seals. She slammed her hand into the ground as Satoshi dodged another of her sensei's attacks, and he landed in her swamp.

"What the?!" The man looked at his feet with wide, desperate eyes. Rin-sensei wasted no time in pouncing on the man, and delivered a powerful elbow to his chin, launching him out of the sticky mud. The jōnin sensei sent a glare her way, but Natsuko ignored it and took up position beside the older woman. This man had _hurt_ her parents, and she would make sure that he ended up the same.

* * *

"**Fūton: Daitoppa!**" Naruto shouted in desperation. Atsuo, who had gotten inside of his guard with a kunai aiming for his heart, was sent flying backwards. Naruto'sbreaths came in quick bursts as he retreated alongside Fū and Ayano. He shivered as he got close, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. Fū's chakra cloak was still going strong and while it let the girl fly, which was _awesome_, it put Naruto on edge. Ayano, on his other side, was sweating bullets and her face was screwed up in concentration. Naruto frowned, knowing his teammate had lower stamina.

"I _will_ kill you!" Atsuo shouted as he recovered. Naruto used the moment to look for his other teammate. Natsuko had joined Rin-sensei against the other shinobi and Naruto felt a small spark of annoyance. Rin-sensei could handle herself, but _they_ would probably need her help.

"Not today!" Ayano yelled back at the man, a fiery look in her green eyes as she threw a kunai aimed to kill. Naruto was off like a jet as soon as the metal flew, and followed up the projectile with a vicious kick, but Atsuo was already on the move. He jumped over Naruto's kick and below Fū's follow up dive. He landed on his hands and flipped back to his feet, hands moving through a series of seals. Naruto cursed under his breath and skidded to a halt as Atsuo raised his hands.

"**Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!**" Atsuo shouted, and again a torrent of raging water rose and shot at Naruto and his fellow were too close to escape it this time; and Naruto braced for impact.

Naruto grunted as the rushing tide struck him in the chest, and his next breath was met with nothing but water. Instinctual panic flooded his mind as he fought against the jutsu's current with all his might. He pushed chakra through his hands and feet and forced himself into a spread eagle position. Naruto halted against the torrent and _climbed_ toward daylight, the jutsu battering him all the way.

His head broke the surface as the technique ended he took a grateful gasp of air. A quick check of his surroundings showed him that Fū had avoided the attack again, and was engaging Atsuo in hand to hand combat. Naruto felt a surge of glee as Atsuo winced every time he blocked one of her blows. That cloak was more than just for flight, then.

"Naruto…" The blonde's attention snapped to his teammate's weak voice. Ayano was floating on her back, barely keeping above the surface. Her eyes were half lidded, her clothes were in tatters, and she looked like one giant bruise. Naruto was at her side at once, lifting her out of the water.

"Are you alright?" He asked in a panic. He looked toward Rin-sensei, knowing she would be able to heal the girl, but the woman was engaging the enemy jōnin while defending Natsuko at the same time.

"Not…not really." Ayano coughed and winced. "Get me to shore? I can rest for a moment and be back in the fight." Her voice was getting weaker, but Naruto did as she said and raced across the surface of the lake. When he reached shore he cast an unenthusiastic look toward the village in the distance, but it seemed deserted. They would not get any help from there today.

"Go help Fū," she ordered him, forcing herself to sit up, clutching at her side. She dug through her pouch with her free hand. "I just need a minute and I'll be back out there." Naruto was doubtful, but held his tongue. With a quick salute, he turned and raced back out onto the lake and toward the battling shinobi.

Just as he reached them, Fū landed a knee and cross punch combo that had the chūnin spiraling backward. The genin girl stood, arm still extended from the punch, with a small smirk gracing her features. Her breathing was labored, but otherwise looked fine. Naruto was impressed with her stamina.

"Impressive." Atsuo rubbed his swollen lip and spat out a glob of blood. He sported an angry purple bruise on his cheek, and his hands were red like they had been burned. "But I'm tired of playing games." He shot them a feral grin. "I've been gifted with powers far beyond those of a normal shinobi!"

Atsuo's eyes closed as his hands formed a seal Naruto had never seen before. A deep purple chakra started to glow around his upper arm and began to spread. Naruto flexed his fists and danced on the balls of his feet, a deep sense of unease settling in the pit of his stomach. Whatever that chakra was, it was much worse than the feeling Fū's chakra cloak gave him. He glanced to his ally, finding her looking just as off put as he felt.

He held up a kunai with an eyebrow raised in question. Fū nodded and reached for her own threw a wave of kunai at the chūnin, knowing Fū would do the same, and jumped after them, forming his first jutsu he had ever mastered. Atsuo jumped to the air, eyes snapping open, and he avoided the barrage. Naruto was quick to follow, a dozen clones forming at his back.

As they leveled off in the air, Naruto saw the effects of Atsuo's jutsu. Small black circles had spread across Atsuo's face, disappearing beneath the man's clothes. His eyes were wide and filled with aeuphoric glee that was matched by the man's wicked smile. Atsuo made a single seal and a new water whip sprung to life in his hands. It lashed out before Naruto could react. His clones were destroyed in the sweep, and the solid Naruto was sent rocketing backwards.

"Got you." A pair of hands wrapped under Naruto's arms, snatching him from the air. Fū's chakra cloak was hot against his back as they sank back down to the lake. He muttered his thanks, blushing as he was pressed against some uncomfortable places.

Atsuo was already slamming his hands against the water when they made it back to the surface. A vortex of water formed at the man's side, roaring in the wind as the water spun at high speeds. Atsuo grin widened and he pointed at them. The drilling vortex burst into motion, flying at the two of them. Naruto jumped away from Fū and they ran in opposite directions, but the torrent split into two.

He had to keep up an intense pace to keep in front of the jutsu, pushing chakra through his feet the entire time. He made the hand seal, and two clones popped into existence behind him. They turned to try to stop the water drill, but Naruto almost doubled over a second later when their memories assaulted him. They had been run straight through by the attack and the phantom pain echoed in Naruto's chest.

So if nothing could physically stop the jutsu, then what? Naruto wracked his brain for a solution. Atsuo was roaring with laughter as his arms guided the drills and Naruto shivered. Whatever technique gave the man the black marks made him crazy. An idea popped into Naruto's head and he switched direction, sprinting straight at the laughing chūnin.

Naruto's heart sped up in anticipation as he got closer and closer to the man without being noticed. Just a few more meters...

"Think you're clever, do you?" His hopes were dashed as Atsuo locked eyes with him.

"**Hiden: Rinpungakure no Jutsu!**" Fū yelled, and the world became nothing but blinding white light. Naruto heard someone scream, but was preoccupied clutching at his eyes and falling through the surface, concentrating only on his burning eyes. Desperate, he forced his eyes open in the water, and almost groaned in relief at the soothing coolness.

A hand broke into the water and yanked him up by his arm. Naruto lashed out as soon as he passed through into the air, catching the person off guard with a kick to the gut. He flipped away and landed, glaring at whoever it was with blurry vision.

"Naruto, I'm _sorry_," Fū said, her voice quiet. Naruto blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision, but the girl was just a green, white, and red blur. "There was no way I could warn you, _and _I got Atsuo too." She sounded sincere and Naruto dropped his guard and dunked his head beneath the water again. When he came up his vision had cleared, and then he paled at what he saw.

Fū was clutching at her left side, where her white shirt had gone red. The girl grimaced and sank to her knees, her chakra cloak disappearing. Naruto ran to her side, but was unsure about what to do.

"That was a dirty trick!" Atsuo's angry roar followed a splash and the chūnin walked toward them with murder in his eyes. "That will _not_ work on me again." Naruto sent a score of clones to buy them some time.

"What can I do?" Naruto asked, eyes focused on the blood seeping from her wound. Fū pulled her hand away, but blood oozed out at a quicker pace and she slammed the hand back to it. Naruto reached into his pouch for his roll of bandages even as memory after memory flowed into his head for every clone Atsuo killed.

"Lift your shirt," Naruto told her. He sent another wave of clones at their enemy, knowing it was only a stopgap. Fū obeyed, pulling her ruined shirt above the wound. "It doesn't look too bad," he told her, starting to wrap the bandage around her stomach.

"I think it only grazed me," she said, and winced when the bindings crossed the wound.

"Sorry," Naruto said, avoiding eye contact as his hands trailed against the girl's soft skin while he wrapped her.

"Clones won't be enough!" Naruto clutched his head as every clone was popped at once. Grimacing, he forced himself to make more. "They can't even get past my whip!" Atsuo's voice was full of irritation, and Naruto had a spark of inspiration.

"Fū, can you Henge?" He asked as he taped the bandage closed. Fū moved her left arm in a full circle with only a small grimace.

"Yeah, I think so," the girl replied, and Naruto grinned.

* * *

Atsuo was trying to force his annoyance away and failing. Clone after clone lunged at him, all shouting their high pitched battle cry, and each one fell with a sharp snap of his water whip. He ground his teeth and spun in a tight circle, forcing the whip to the greatest length he could manage. Every clone disappeared in a puff of smoke as the whip tore through them.

He turned to where the original and the girl were, and found nothing but a large wall of smoke rising from the lake. His eyes narrowed, and his chakra enhanced vision could make out over a dozen shadows standing in the smoke. Atsuo growled, and his upper right arm burned as he drew more chakra from Lord Orochimaru's mark. The boy never learned, but Atsuo was done playing.

The smoke cleared, and a dozen clones were standing at attention. Behind them, the real Naruto was glaring at him, holding the Taki girl bridal style. The way her body was limp meant that she was either unconscious or dead. Atsuo grinned, his bloodlust roaring for more.

"Come on!" He taunted the boy, whose face contorted in anger. Naruto shouted something and the clones charged at Atsuo. This time they were silent as they ran to their doom, and Atsuo was endlessly grateful for that. He raised his whip, gave it a taunting twirl and waited for them to be in range. As soon as they were close enough he spun, and the whip sliced through them like a knife through butter.

Except for one.

Atsuo's eyes widened when the last Naruto took the whip with nothing more than a wince as the water wrapped around him. Before the chūnin could react, the boy had taken a deep breath, and Atsuo realized he had been had.

"**Hiden: Rinpungakure no Jutsu!**" In the brief second before Atsuo slammed his eyes shut, Naruto flickered and was replaced by Fū. Despite his closed eyes, his eyes began to burn for the second time that day. He released control of the chakra in his feet, but something hit him in the small of the back before he could sink beneath the water, and he was sent forward.

Before he could hope to recover, a pair of hands caught him, spun, and threw him back in the other direction. Instead of hitting water, three boots impacted his back, and sent him flying into the air. Atsuo forced his eyes open, but between the rushing air and his tears, he could only make out a blonde blur and green blur flying past him. He contorted in the air, finding that two more blurs had appeared, caught the first two, and had thrown them back toward Atsuo. The chūnin tried to form a jutsu, but it was too late.

"**Fūzumaki Rendan**!" Naruto and Fū shouted, and Atsuo coughed in pain as the genin drilled him in the chest with a pair of powerful kicks. His ribs protested under the pressure, and he was sent barreling down to the water. Atsuo forced himself to flip over in midair, facing the lake. If he landed right, then he could recover from this and kill the annoying bastards.

"**Fūton: Daitoppa!**" Atsuo had a half second to panic before the barreling winds slammed into him. He speed doubled and he hit the surface with the distinct audible _cracks_ of breaking bones.

Atsuo felt nothing but his master's power receding back to the seal as he lost consciousness.

* * *

Ayano sat and stared at the small red pill in her hand. She had recovered somewhat from Atsuo's attack, but was still exhausted. The soldier pill would replenish her chakra and give her a burst of energy, but not without consequences afterwards. She looked between the two fights with a frown. Rin-sensei was keeping her enemy on the ropes with a strong combination of fire ninjutsu and taijutsu, with Natsuko attacking any opening she saw.

On the other side, Naruto and Fū were running for their lives from gigantic water drills, and Ayano reacted. She tossed the pill into her mouth and chomped on it. The effects were immediate, and she felt her chakra system flood with renewed vigor. She ran onto the lake, intent on flanking Atsuo.

But then Natsuko screamed.

Of their own will, her feet switched direction, and she raced toward her teammate. Even from this distance, Ayano could see the ring of earth that encased Natsuko's left forearm, and her stomach churned at just how _wrong_ the angle of the limb looked.

Sensei was already attacking the enemy again, and the earthen ring disintegrated. Natsuko sank to her knees, clutching her broken arm to her chest, and Ayano was there within moments. She placed a gentle hand on her teammate's shoulder, but the girl recoiled at the touch.

"Calm down," Ayano said in as calm a tone as she could muster. Natsuko relaxed at the familiar voice. Ayano glanced back at the battling ninja, and caught Rin-sensei's eye while she grappled with the man. The woman jerked her head, then focused back on her opponent. The message was clear. "C'mon," she said, putting Natsuko's good arm over her shoulder. "We've got to move."

They jumped a dozen meters away from the fighting shinobi, and Ayano gingerly set her teammate on the ground. She studied the broken arm, swallowing her unease. Halfway down the forearm, Natsuko's limb bent at an impossible angle. Ayano could see the tips of the broken bone pushing against her skin.

"I'm going to have to set it," Ayano said, hating how unsure she sounded. "I think it's a clean break."

"You _think_?" Natsuko asked, incredulous. Ayano bit back a retort, knowing the pain had to be intense. Still, Ayano was hesitant. They had only learned basic first aid at the Academy, and Rin-sensei's scrolls were filled with nothing but the extreme basics of medical jutsu. But she was sure she could do this.

Almost.

"Just trust me. Rin-sensei can make sure it's fixed later, but it has to be taken care of _now_." Mollified, Natsuko extended her arm just enough for Ayano to get a grip on it. She held either side of the break, and stared into Natsuko's worry-filled grey eyes. "On the count of three?" Natsuko nodded. "One…" In one swift motion, Ayano had straightened her teammate's arm. To the girl's credit, Natsuko only let out a quiet yell, and Ayano could barely see the tears.

"_What the hell?_" Natsuko practically hissed, her eyes jammed shut. Ayano ignored the complaint and stared splinting and wrapping the girl's arm, with the supplies from her standard kit. As soon as she taped it off, Natsuko cradled her arm close to her chest. Ayano stood.

"I'm going to go help Rin-sensei, try not to move the arm." She turned, but Natsuko grabbed her hand with her good arm.

"Be _careful_." Natsuko implored her. Once again Ayano locked eyes with her teammate. "He's Satoshi. The one who hurt my family." A moment passed and an understanding passed between them. Ayano gave a sharp nod and left to the fight.

Rin-sensei was being driven back as spike after spike of rock rose from the ground, following her wherever she went. The enemy held his hands out, guiding the attack toward her sensei. Sensei managed to dodge most of them, but Ayano could see the cuts, scrapes and bruises from where the attack had hit.

She palmed a kunai, snuck up behind the man, and leapt on his back. She hacked and slashed with her kunai, and while his flak vest took the brunt of the attacks, Ayano knew she had to be doing _some _damage.

The man broke his jutsu as soon as he felt her weight, grabbed her arm, and flipped her over his shoulder. She landed hard on her back with a pained grunt, and the man stalked toward her, drawing a sword. Ayano scrambled to her feet, but Sensei beat her to the punch.

The jōnin leapt in, kicked the man's wrist, sending the sword flying. Sensei landed, carrying the momentum of her jump into a spinning kick that caught the man in the chest, and had him stumbling backwards. Sensei regained her feet, hands flying through seals.

"**Katon: Gōkyakyū no Jutsu!**" A great fireball spewed from Sensei's mouth, and, with no time to dodge, her enemy crossed his arms in the vain attempt to block. The rotten stench of burning flesh made Ayano gag as the enemy was sent flying toward the lake. Sensei turned to her, and Ayano felt fear for a moment before the woman smiled her usual gentle smile.

"Good job on the distraction," was all she said.

"No problem!" Ayano said, blushing at the praise.

"Oye! Sensei!" The two of them turned, and Ayano felt immense relief to see her other teammate healthy as well. The blonde was trailed by Natsuko, still cradling her arm, and Fū, who kept a hand clutched to her side. Behind them , a trio of clones was carrying a motionless Atsuo.

"Is he…?" Ayano trailed off.

"Unconscious," Fū said. A moment of silence passed, and Ayano was not sure what to feel or how to act. What was the protocol after a battle?

"I'm proud of you four," Sensei began, but was interrupted by a loud splash. All five of them snapped their attention to the shore, where Satoshi stood, a snarl twisting his features burned features. His clothes above the waist had been burned away, leaving only charred flesh behind. His arms hung at his sides, useless, and his eyes were wide and crazed. Ayano recoiled from the gruesome sight.

"I will not be killed that easily!" He shouted, voice cracking. "Orochimaru-sama has given me powers beyond that of a normal man!" The man began to tremble, and a deep purple chakra began to form around him. Ayano heard Natsuko gasp behind her and could only wonder what that chakra must have felt like.

The man's eyes closed in concentration. "I will kill you all slo—" The man's eyes snapped open , and he stared, wide-eyed, at the three kunai sticking out of his chest. And like someone flipped a light switch, the burned man collapsed to the ground.

"If you ever have an ability that requires charging," Sensei said, lowering her arm. "Always do it where an enemy does not have a clear shot." Despite her nonchalant tone, Rin-sensei wore a deep frown. Ayano wondered if ninja ever got used to killing.

"What now, Sensei?" Natsuko asked, voice small. Ayano felt a pang of sympathy at just how _relieved_ her teammate sounded.

"Now," Rin-sensei said, giving the genin her full attention. "We _talk_ to Shibuki, and bring the traitor back to Konoha. Any idea where he might be, Fū?"

The Taki genin nodded. "He's probably hidi—"

"Sensei, look out!" Naruto's sharp warning came just in time as Sensei cocked her head to the side, and a kunai only grazed her neck instead of embedding itself in the back of her head. Ayano, though, focused on the impossible sight on the shore.

Satoshi stood, an aura of dark purple chakra surrounding him, and he had _changed_. Gone were the burns, and instead Satoshi's skin had become green-grey and leathery. His hair had gone chalk-white and his eyes golden-yellow with slit pupils, but worst of all was his grin. Two rows of long, sharp teeth gleamed in the sunlight, a thick, forked tongue flicking in and out between them.

He was a monster.

"What the hell _are_ you?" Rin-sensei took a step forward, but stumbled. Satoshi's grin grew wider and Ayano felt pure unadulterated fear as Rin-sensei fell to her knees. Her eyes clouded over, and she reached a trembling hand up to her neck. It came away bloody. "Poison…" Sensei whispered, then pitched forward, unconscious. Time did not move for an eternity and an instant.

"No…" Ayano heard herself whisper, tears stinging at her eyes. Sensei _had _to be fine. She would get up any second. "No…" Her voice grew louder, but still Sensei did not move. "No. No. No." Her focus shifted to the man responsible, and she felt a fire burn in her belly that she had never experienced before. "No!" She leapt to her feet, and Satoshi grinned. She screamed an incoherent battle cry and ran at the demon. He had hurt _her_ Rin-sensei. And he would die.

Behind her, Naruto _roared_.

* * *

**A/N: And there's chapter 6! Action scenes are always something I'm working to improve, so let me know if they flowed well and were exciting, or if they fell flat. Either way, the feedback is much appreciated!  
**

**I tried to give everyone a bit of time in the limelight, but some may have shined brighter than others. I _especially _focused on trying to make the villains not seem generic in their skill sets. I feel like I managed it with Atsuo, but Satoshi will need next chapter to get fleshed out.  
**

**Anyway, I really enjoyed writing these scenes, and hope I didn't scare you off with my less than stellar action sequences! Please let me know!  
**

**(P.S: I will be attempting to do NaNoWriMo again this year, but will be focusing on original fiction for it. I'll probably need a break from it at some point during the month and bang out chapter 7, but don't get worried if you don't see an update through November.)  
**

**(P.P.S: Some more people questioned the pairing, and have said they don't want to get too attached just in case they hate who I have Naruto with. For the record, it is still down to a choice between two, but I am leaning heavily in favor of one. After the next chapter or two, I will have written enough to know where the story wants me to go, so expect your question to be answered in the A/N of Chapter 7 or 8)  
**

* * *

**Justu List (Ordered by appearance):  
**

**Katon: Hibashiri** **(Fire Release: Running Fire)**  
B-rank - Offensive - Ninjutsu  
User creates a stream of fire that's form and instensity can be changed by the user mid-technique.

**Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire)  
**C-rank – Offensive - Ninjutsu  
User creates a small volley of fireballs, controlled by chakra, and launches them at their opponent. Not an overly-strong technique, but it is used to force space between the user and their opponent.

**Suiton: Muzo no Shuriken (Water Release: Water Shuriken)**  
D-rank - Offensive - Ninjutsu  
User uses water elemental chakra to form water shaped in the form of a shuriken and hurls it at the opponent.

**Katon: ****Gōkyakyū **no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu)  
C-Rank - Offensive - Ninjutsu  
User converts their chakra to fire and releases it from their mouth as a large burning orb capable of burning through anything in its path.

**Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu (Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique)  
**A-rank - Offensive - Ninjutsu  
User must be near a body of water. Creates a surge of water several meters high and sends it as a surge toward an enemy, resembling a waterfall. Can last as long as the user maintains concentration.

**Doton: Nebari no Numa (Earth Release: Sticky Swamp)  
**C-Rank – Ninjutsu – Supplementary  
User funnels their chakra in the ground around them, turning the land into a boggy swamp that will immobilize opponents. A sufficiently strong opponent can break away from the clinging earth.

**Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)  
**C-Rank – Ninjutsu – Mid/Long Range  
User creates a large, powerful gust of wind capable of leveling anything in its path.

**Hiden: Rinpungakure no Jutsu (Secret Technique: Hiding in Scale Powder)**  
B-Rank - Supplementary - Ninjutsu  
Fu uses her biju's chakra to form a luminescent powder, and ejects it out of her lungs. The powder reflects and intensifies any and all light as well as gets into the eyes of the opponent, blinding them for a short time.

(Do you guys like the Jutsu list, or is it unnecessary and take up too much space?)


	7. Leaves in the Waterfall

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I profit from this work. I'm merely using it as an exercise to improve my writing and for my own and others enjoyment.**

**A/N: Hey everyone and welcome back to Team Rin! I'm sorry I didn't update at all during November, but I took the month to attempt NaNoWriMo. Said attempt was…less than successful, but I still got a good chunk of my first novel started. That said, I was more than happy to return to fanfiction once we clicked over to December. **

**The most important thing I want to say, though, is HOLY CRAP OVER 100 REVIEWS! I _never_ expected this story to be so popular! You are all amazing, and your feedback is extremely appreciated!  
**

**More notes after the chapter, please enjoy!**

* * *

**Team Rin**

**Chapter 07: Leaves in the Waterfall  
**

* * *

Natsuko felt a deep nauseousness settle in her stomach at the sight before her and slammed her eyes shut to block it out. The feeling redoubled as the sickly energy attacked her senses. She let out a low moan and clutched at her head with her good hand, for the first time wishing away her innate ability to feel chakra. Normally she would have to use a jutsu to focus her capabilities, but now…

After Rin-sensei collapsed, Naruto had succumbed to a chakra filled with such viscous anger, rage, and _hate _that she could not believe he was the boy she had come to know. She desperately wished that it was the worst chakra she had ever experienced, but whatever was happening to their opponent was downright _wrong_.

Her temples pounded, and she fought to regain her wits. She knew the rest of her family could push away their sensing abilities and focus on the present, but it was so overwhelming that Natsuko thought she was drowning in it. Her hand gripped her forehead tighter as Naruto's chakra flared once more, and Natsuko felt wetness slip down her cheeks.

"Make it stop…" She pleaded with a whimper, falling to her side.

"Natsuko?" The voice barely penetrated the turbulence in her mind. "Are you alright? Natsuko!" Lifting her eyelids in that moment was the hardest thing Natsuko had ever done. She made out orange eyes and green hair, recognizing Fū standing above her. A crimson aura was forming around the girl. It felt so similar to Naruto's, but there was nowhere near the amount of negative emotions with it.

Natsuko latched onto the new sense, focusing on it entirely, and the terrible pressure lessened. Her breathing was ragged, tears streamed down her cheeks, but she could think again. She swiped the wetness away from her face and stood on shaky feet. Fū offered a hand to steady her, and Natsuko took it with a grateful sigh. She turned her attention to the fight, and paled at what she saw.

_Ayano_, who had never once really tried to improve her taijutsu, was attacking the snake man with all her might with a full frontal assault. Steel glinted in the light as Ayano spun and tried to slash at the enemy jōnin, but the monster dodged everything with a manic grin on his reptilian face.

As stunning as that was; Naruto chose that moment to let out a deafening roar. Natsuko jerked her head in his direction and let out a sharp gasp. Wild, crimson chakra was flaring around the blonde boy, and he was clutching his head in pain. His jaw was taut around gritted teeth, and Natsuko was perturbed to notice his canines were growing longer, and, instead of the three whisker-like birthmarks on each cheek, there at least a dozen per cheek split into three sections. What the hell was going on?

"N-Naruto?" She called out to him. She hated that she stuttered in fear of her own teammate. "Can you hear me?" His eyes snapped open and focused on her, eyes no longer cheerful and blue, but now savage and red with slit pupils. For a brief moment, all of that anger and hatred she had sensed before threatened to overwhelm her once again.

The moment broke, and Naruto turned away from her and Fū, roaring as he charged Satoshi. Ayano had no warning and was roughly tossed aside as Naruto came up behind her. The girl yelped in shock as she flew through the air, but was silenced as she landed in the lake.

"He's…he's one too?" Fū asked, her voice barely a whisper. There was such hope and caution in that question that it seemed surreal in that moment when Naruto was brutal in his attacks against Satoshi.

"He's what?" She asked, turning to the green-haired girl. Fū's chakra cloak was starting to flicker, and she was staring at Naruto with a mixture of awe and disbelief. Fū did not seem to hear her, her face scrunching up like she was having an internal debate. The red aura around her flickered again, then died.

As soon as it did, Natsuko was bombarded by the sickly, demonic chakra once more. She moaned, clutched her head, and sank to the ground again. Tears of pain and frustration leaked from the corner of her eyes as the sensations overwhelmed her. In that moment, Natsuko felt more helpless than she ever had before.

When the darkness crept on the edges of her mind, she greeted it with open arms, and fell into sweet nothingness

* * *

Red. All he could see was red. Pure, hot, mesmerizing fury bubbled through him, begging to be released. With his heart pounding against his chest at an incredible pace, Naruto felt something _shift_. His vision narrowed and his attention snapped toward the sound of battle. The bastard who attacked Rin-sensei was already fighting someone, but Naruto only saw his target.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Naruto bellowed in a deepened voice. He charged, surprised himself with his own speed, and _swiped _the first ninja out of the way. The person was sent sprawling out onto the lake, but Naruto had eyes only for Satoshi.

He slashed at his target, and the chakra around his hands formed into claws that seared the air around them. The man dodged around his strikes, and Naruto growled in increasing fury. More chakra pumped through his system the angrier he became, and his attacks sped up with each passing second.

One of his slashes finally caught the bastard across the stomach, leaving a trail of blackened scales in its wake. Satoshi leapt back, and a mud wall rose between them. Naruto ran straight at it, and his cloak burned through it as fast as a kunai pierced paper. Satoshi was gripping his injured stomach with a grimace, a promise of murder alight in his eyes. Naruto growled. The pain was not enough.

He wanted to hurt the bastard; to see him bleed; to watch him _die_.

"What the hell_ are_ you?!" Satoshi spat out, his voice a hiss. Naruto answered with a roaring charge. The enemy ninja lobbed shuriken at him, but Naruto ignored them and sprinted forward. If any of them struck him, he did not notice.

Chakra claws met scaled fists in a blur of motion as the two engaged, and Naruto took sadistic glee in seeing the man's skin sizzle with each point of contact. Despite the pain that must have caused, Naruto was still unable to get inside Satoshi's guard. Naruto growled and lunged with all his might, but the man spun and Naruto's strike flew wide. Something hit his back, and Naruto was sent sprawling through the air.

He hit the dirt and rolled back to his feet to see Satoshi grinning and forming a long series of hand seals. Frustration bubbled in his stomach and Naruto tried to force something _more_ out of his system. The red chakra surged to his call, and Naruto felt a fresh wave of anger and bloodlust hit him.

"**Hiden: Doku no Kobura**!" Satoshi breathed in deep, but Naruto was already in motion. He reared back a hand, intent on taking off the snake man's head. As his chakra laced arm flew forward, Satoshi spat out a stream of thick, steaming, purple liquid. Naruto had no time to dodge and the technique caught him full in the face, chest, and arms.

It_ burned_ and Naruto screamed, clawing the offending acid away from his skin. He was distracted a moment later when Satoshi went on the offensive, hitting him in the chest and kicking him in the chin in a quick combo that sent Naruto flying back.

He landed with a haggard gasp, and panicked when he could not take a breath. He took a hesitant glance down, and found a small, metal circle sticking out of his chest. He sucked in an instinctive shocked breath, but only managed to give himself a coughing fit. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth, and Naruto gripped the kunai with a grimace, and _yanked_.

The pain was intense, but short-lived, and Naruto watched in morbid fascination as chakra poured from the wound, rather than blood. In a matter of seconds, the wound closed up. He took an experimental inhale, and grinned when he breathed normally. He gazed at his chakra covered hands with a wicked grin.

"**Hiden: Doku no Kobura**!"Naruto's attention snapped back to focus, and he snarled at the sight of Satoshi attacking an exhausted Fū. With renewed energy, Naruto leapt at his target before he could spit his poison. Satoshi did not see him coming, and Naruto landed a solid kick to the side of Satoshi's head, sending him staggering backward. The purple poison spewed off target, charring the ground where it landed.

"Wh-which one do you have?" Fū asked, but Naruto ignored her. He stalked toward a wide eyed Satoshi.

"There's no way you survived that!" He shouted with a snarl. Naruto smirked and attacked. The bastard did not let Naruto get anywhere close to him as he smacked his palms against the ground, and spiked pillars of stone jutted from the ground under Naruto's feet. The jinchūriki narrowly avoided being skewered, and slid around the technique.

Satoshi shouted and more purple chakra flared around his hands, and more spikes rose from the ground between him and Naruto. The blonde surged forward, smashing through the rock with his chakra claws as the space between the rocks shrank. He was less than a meter away from Satoshi when the man grinned and clapped his hands together. Naruto was stopped in his tracks as the stone around him fused, trapping him from the neck down.

Satoshi made a single hand seal with a gleam in his eye. "Die!" Naruto felt immediate pressure against every part of his body. His chakra was pushing back, but it was not enough. That realization sparked the first real fear since the red chakra had taken over, and Naruto panicked.

"No!" He shouted at his enemy. Satoshi only laughed, and fresh, desperate rage flared inside Naruto. He would see this man _dead_. With a guttural snarl, Naruto pulled at the depths of his red chakra, and _pushed_.

Satoshi's laughter died on his lips when the stone prison groaned in protest, then exploded outwards. The man shielded his face behind crossed arms as the sharp rock flew in every direction. Naruto jumped at his chance, ignoring the variety of slashes and scrapes the exploding rock had given him. He lashed out against Satoshi's exposed stomach with clawed chakra, and _dug_. Satoshi kicked him away, but Naruto took two handfuls of flesh with him.

Naruto licked his lips and watched with growing amusement as Satoshi clung to his ravaged midsection. Thick, crimson blood leaked over his arms, and Naruto could smell death in the air. He laughed.

Then Satoshi's purple chakra pooled around the wounds, and Naruto could only watch in frustration as fresh skin and scales grew over the injuries. He balled his fists with a growl, ignoring the _squelch _of Satoshi's innards he still held. He locked eyes with the jōnin, who had a snarl firmly in place. There was no more amusement in his eyes, and Naruto took a small amount of satisfaction from that, but it was not enough.

In a blur of crimson and violet chakra, the two rushed toward each other again.

* * *

Ayano could only watch in helpless horror as the _thing_ Naruto had become charged Satoshi once more. It was impossible for her to reconcile the savage animalistic behavior with her goofy and cheerful teammate, but there was no denying it was him beneath the crimson chakra.

She spared a glance toward Fū, who had her eyes fixed on Naruto without flinching Fū had had a similar cloak to Naruto's, only she had not become…_that_. Ayano desperately wanted to ask, but Fū looked pale and clammy, and Ayano knew that she had to be exhausted from both the fights and her injuries. So she would hold her questions for later.

If they survived this.

She flinched away from the sound of Naruto roaring again, and shifted her attention to the rest of Team Twelve lying unconscious on the ground. She bit back a yelp as the movement caused her back to flare up in pain, and tried not to think about how bad the burn must be.

Her gaze drifted over Rin-sensei, and took little comfort in the shallow rise and fall of the woman's chest. She lowered her ear to her sensei's chest while placing two gentle fingers on the woman's neck to check her heartbeat. Heat rose to her cheeks at the small amount of contact, but Ayano pushed her feelings away and forced herself to focus.

Sensei's heartbeat was fast. _Scary _fast. Her shallow breaths were ragged, and her skin was cool to the touch. Ayano sat back up, and studied the cut on Sensei's neck, and her stomach dropped to see the skin around was a bright, angry red.

She had no idea what any of that meant.

Frustration and panic welled up inside of her, and she cursed herself for not studying Sensei's scrolls more thoroughly. If she had, then maybe she could have found something, then Sensei could take care of the enemy and—

"Ungh…" The sound was little more than a pained moan, and Ayano's attention snapped back to the present and onto her teammate. She had no idea how Natsuko had fallen unconscious in the first place, having found no obvious injuries.

"Natsuko? Hey, can you hear me?" She kept her voice to a whisper, feeling the need to not risk drawing any attention to their group. She heard footsteps behind her, but a quick glance showed it was only Fū. She focused back on her teammate, and Natsuko's eyes squinted open for a quick second before she slammed them shut with a whimper.

"Ayano? Hurts." The amount of strain in her teammate's voice left Ayano in little doubt that whatever was hurting Natsuko had to be crippling. She grasped her teammate's hand, offering whatever comfort she could.

"What does?" She prompted in a gentle tone. Natsuko's face scrunched up, but she lifted her hand out of Ayano's and tapped her temple.

"Chakra," she whispered, and then shivered. "Hurts." Chakra? What could chakra…

Ayano blinked, and looked between her two teammates with widened eyes as it clicked in her head. Whatever was causing Natsuko's reaction had to be related to her sensing abilities. Ayano frowned. If Naruto's and Satoshi's chakras gave _her_ a bad feeling, then a sensor would be experiencing it on an entirely different level.

Ayano wracked her brain for any solution, but her limited medical knowledge betrayed her once again. Natsuko moaned again and Ayano pressed hand to the brunette's forehead, finding it clammy and hot like she had a fever. Ayano grit her teeth and felt tears sting the back of her eyes as frustration threatened to overwhelm her. If only there was a way for Natsuko to stop sensing…

An idea sparked in the back of her mind, and Ayano leapt at the chance to try _something_. She reached up and held Natsuko's face in gentle hands so that the other girl would not be able to look away. Her eyes flickered open; the pupils huge with only a thin ring of grey separating them from the white of her eyes. Ayano tried to hold a smile, and hoped she looked reassuring.

"Focus on me, Natsuko." Ayano did not blink as she molded the little chakra she had left. Her soldier pill was wearing off fast, and without hand seals the chakra was stubborn in wanting to stay put. Slow as it was, it was still moving.

She kept her breathing slow and even. It kept the chakra at a constant rate for Natsuko to focus on, and, as the seconds ticked by, Natsuko's pupils began to contract and her breathing evened out.

"Block it all out," Ayano murmured. It was eerie to stare into someone's eyes for so long; she decided when she could notice the fog lifting as her teammate emerged from her daze. When Natsuko let out a soft sigh, Ayano knew it had worked. Gingerly, Natsuko sat up, displacing Ayano's hands.

"Is it over?" She asked. Ayano shook her head and pointed to the rolling mass of red and purple that was Naruto and Satoshi. Natsuko glanced at the duo, then immediately slammed her eyes shut. Ayano put a hand on her shoulder, ready to catch her, but Natsuko waved her off.

"Do we have _any_ idea what's going on?" The brunette asked through gritted teeth.

"You mean you two don't know?" Fū spoke up. Ayano blinked in surprise, having forgotten the Taki girl was there.

"Know what?" Natsuko asked. A howl of pain interrupted Fū before she could answer. Naruto had broken away from Satoshi, and the red chakra was starting to flicker. The blond was bleeding from a slash across the chest that looked to have cut through clothes, armor, and flesh alike.

"It doesn't matter right now," Ayano declared, resolute. She shifted her gaze toward the village hundreds of meters away. "Do you think anyone from the village will help?"

Fū shook her head. "Not without Shibuki's orders," she said with a derisive sniff.

"Then go convince him."

"What?" Fū looked at her like she had grown an extra head.

"We need to do _something_!" Ayano snapped at the girl. Fū flinched back, but nodded and took off at a sprint.

Ayano fell to her knees next to Sensei again, and brushed a stray lock of hair out of the woman's face with tender care. Natsuko fell into place beside her, and paled at the sight of their teacher. Sensei was still breathing, but it had grown shallower. Ayano was terrified that there would be no way to save her. Everything she had read said that poisons were arguably the deadliest shinobi tool simply because of the difficulty in finding an antidote.

She blinked, and a realization struck.

"Come on," she ordered her teammate, grabbing the girl and pulling her to her feet. If they could get the poison, then they could make an antidote. Somehow. Natsuko gave her a queer look at her sudden change in her demeanor. "We have to find that kunai." Natsuko's eyes widened in understanding, and she nodded.

Filled with a renewed sense of purpose, the two set of to scour the battlefield.

* * *

Naruto tumbled along the ground after being struck by a flying boulder to the face. He could already feel his chakra stitching flesh, bone, and sinew back together. He knew, with a cold sense of clarity, that the blow would have killed him if not for his chakra fixing the damage.

It was the tenth time that had happened.

He rolled back to his feet, the red aura flickering before surging back with renewed vigor. It was doing that more as the fight went on, and Naruto knew that he was getting close to his limit. He had to end this fight soon.

Unfortunately, Satoshi looked to be in much better shape than he was, and the bastard was still wearing his damned smirk. Naruto _really_ wanted to rip it right off the jōnin's face. But it did not matter how often Naruto managed to land a blow; the enemy ninja had kept control of the battle throughout.

"Still alive? I'm actually impressed." Satoshi taunted him. He tapped a finger against his chin and eyed Naruto up and down. "Orochimaru-sama might be interested in your rejuvenation kekkei genkai." Naruto bared his teeth in a snarl. Satoshi's smirked widened and he held up a single hand seal. "No more time for games, Brat!"

"**Hiden: Zenshin Mahi no Doku**!" An acrid yellow mist poured from Satoshi's mouth, creating a translucent fog. Naruto leapt back to avoid the technique, but it did not follow him. Instead, the poison mist swirled around Satoshi. At the center of the maelstrom, Satoshi held his hand seal with a wide grin.

"You wanted to kill me! Here's your chance!" The enemy ninja shouted out began to laugh. Naruto weighed his options. There was at least five meters of mist between him and Satoshi, and the jōnin was clearly expecting the mist to take him out.

But the poison could not hurt him if he did not breathe, and his chakra would just heal him anyway. With a grin of his own, Naruto charged. He reared back a claw and kept his mouth shut in a firm line. Satoshi's grin never faltered, but Naruto did not hesitate and lashed out at the jōnin's neck to end it once and for all.

Satoshi dropped his seal and caught Naruto's swinging arm. The mist did not stop swirling and Naruto realized he had been had. He could see smoke rising from Satoshi's hand as the red chakra burned him, but the bastard kept an iron grip that refused to budge. He swung a desperate swipe with his off hand, but the older ninja caught that one as well.

"You have to breath at some point. Wouldn't want to pass out would you?" Satoshi's tone was condescending and amused, filling Naruto to the brim with frustrated anger. He yanked, kicked, and even bit, but the bastard was immovable. Fire burned in Naruto's lungs as they cried desperately for air, and as darkness clouded the edge of his vision, he took a breath.

As soon as he did, Satoshi released him, and Naruto tried to attack. His body had other ideas, however, and Naruto collapsed to the ground. None of his limbs would respond no matter how hard he thought at them, and Naruto panicked as the red chakra faded away, taking the anger and hate with it. Without being able to move, and no power left in his system, Naruto had never felt more helpless.

It did not sit well with him.

Satoshi squatted down next to him and patted his shoulder, never losing his infuriating smirk. "Don't worry brat. This means you get to live an extra day!" Naruto tried to give a biting retort, but not even his jaw would move. Satoshi licked his lips, eyes alight with mirth. "This is my favorite poison," he muttered as the fog cleared, and went to lift Naruto up.

"D-d-drop him!" A man jumped in between Naruto and Satoshi, wielding a sword made out of nothing but water. The stuttering voice combined with the fact that he was trembling made Shibuki a less than threatening sight. Satoshi's hairless brows raised and a look of mild irritation crossed his face.

"I'm honestly surprised, Shibuki. I did not expect betrayal so soon." His annoyance turned to glee as a savage light glowed in his yellowed eyes. "You know what this means?"

"Of course I do." Shibuki had deepened his voice, but whatever effect he was going for was lost as he rushed his words. "Takigakure will not betray its alliances so easily!" A chorus of cheers sounded behind Naruto, and he guessed that more ninja had joined the fight.

_About damn time…_ he thought with a mental glare at the Waterfall ninja. This was entirely their fault in the first place. If not for them, then Rin-sensei would not be... Tears welled up in his eyes as realization of everything that had happened in the past hour hit him, and Naruto wanted nothing more than to _scream_.

More Taki jōnin landed on the battlefield and surrounded Satoshi, but the man only looked bored. His purple chakra receded, taking the creepy snake appearance with it. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot, waiting for Shibuki to make a move.

"Orochimaru-sama has a long memory," the man warned.

"Attack!" Shibuki ordered, not bothering to replay. Each of the Taki ninja launched a high pressure water technique at Satoshi, who did not even move. The streams combined into a maelstrom that Naruto was sure would rip anything to shreds. When the techniques ended, though, Satoshi was gone. A soaked, shredded log was left where he had stood.

"Shit…" Shibuki muttered, before turning to Naruto. Anxiousness and fear shined in the leader's eyes, but Naruto could not muster any bit of sympathy. The teenager bent down and picked Naruto up, and the blond could do nothing to protest. "I really am sorry about this," Shibuki whispered. "I didn't have a choice, and nobody was supposed to be hurt." His tone turned wry. "Of course, I never believed that, but there was nothing left to do."

Naruto wanted to shout at the man, and force him to realize that there was _always _the option to fight back. That only cowards gave up when the odds were stacked against them, and cowards did not deserve to lead a village.

Instead, he was forced to lie helplessly as Shibuki used him as a soundboard. "I'm ashamed to say that it took the words of a child to get me to make a choice." Shibuki shifted Naruto so that he was facing toward the lake. Fū, Ayano, and Natsuko were standing in a semicircle around Sensei while a medic ninja held a glowing green hand to Rin-sensei's neck. Naruto's heart skipped a beat. If a medic ninja was bothering to try something, it meant that Sensei was alive!

"You should thank Fū," Shibuki said. The green haired girl looked up at the mention of her name, glaring at Shibuki. Naruto felt the man shiver. She shifted her gaze to Naruto, and he saw something like glee in her eye. That was odd. "She convinced us to make a stand. Of course, this puts Takigakure in a bad situation, and I hope Konoha will see fit to send aid…" Yes, Naruto decided, he _really _wanted to hit Shibuki.

The leader set him down, and Naruto's focus snapped onto his unconscious teacher as the med-nin raised herself out of her squat with a sigh. "She should be fine after a day of rest." Relief flooded through Naruto's system, and he could see his teammates almost collapse as the stress melted off their shoulders. "You were lucky to find that kunai," the med-nin told the girls. "Chakra draining poisons are extremely deadly, and if I hadn't known what to look for…"

Naruto did not want to entertain that possibility again.

"Shibuki-sama," the woman said to her leader. "Where should we…" Naruto tuned her out as his weariness caught up with him all at once. His eyes drifted closed, and the world swam away.

* * *

He groaned and rolled over, snuggling deeper into the warmth the blanket and futon offered. As he was about to fall back into oblivion, his mind wandered to earlier in the day, and Naruto sat up, eyes wide and heart racing. He was no longer by the lake in Takigakure. Instead, he was occupying the sole piece of furniture in a small room.

The room was painted cream with a detailed mural of the giant tree of Takigakure stretching along the walls. Other than that, the room's only distinguishing feature was the futon he had been sleeping on.

"Where am I?"He asked aloud, then grinned when the fact that he could move again sank in. He leapt up from the futon and did a few experimental jabs and kicks. Everything was a bit sluggish, but he was not stuck anymore!

"Shibuki's house." Naruto let out a _totally manly_ high pitched yelp and spun around. He tripped on his blanket and landed on his rear, much to the amusement of the girl kneeling on the floor.

"Uh. Hi." Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head and feeling utterly lame. Fū gave him a half smile.

"Hi." The moment passed. "So…" Fū trailed off and shifted her gaze toward the mural.

"So?" Naruto prompted. Fū turned back to him, a frown on her face and a hardened glint in her eye.

"Why didn't you tell me you were a jinchūriki?" Naruto sucked in a sharp, panicked breath. How had she…? Memories of his brawl with Satoshi flooded his mind, and the source of his sudden power clicked in Naruto's head.

"I used the Kyūbi's power…" His stomach churned at the realization. Fractions of thoughts and feelings from when he used the chakra threatened to overwhelm him, but he pushed that away to focus on the bigger issue.

If Fū had figured it out, then did Ayano and Natsuko do so too? The thought of his teammates treating him with disdain and fear like many of the other villagers scared Naruto to his core. Random villagers he could deal with, but to get that reaction from people he cared about…

"The Kyūbi? You have the Nine Tails inside you?" Fū tilted her head to the side, as if straining to hear something. "Chōmei is not a fan…" She muttered with a faint blush on her cheeks.

"How did you know?" Naruto asked her. He brought his knees to his chest and rested his head on them, hoping the nausea would pass. She looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Your chakra. It was the same as mine." Naruto blinked once, then twice, and the meaning behind her words sank in. He lifted his head and looked at her with wide eyes.

He pointed at her in shocked realization. "You're a jinchūriki too!" Fū opened and closed her mouth a few times, but no sound came out.

"You didn't know," she said after a few moments, pressing a palm against her forehead, which pushed her green locks out of her face. "You never used your powers before, did you?"

"I didn't even know we _had_ powers…" Naruto said with a frown. He wondered if the old man or Sensei knew about this.

"Chōmei says that the Kyūbi is very stingy with giving out his chakra." She narrowed her eyes. "This coming from the cheapest beetle I know…" Naruto quirked a brow at her words. It was like listening in on half a conversation.

"Who's Chōmei?"

"He's the Nanabi; the bijū sealed inside me."

"It has a name?"

"Of course he does." She frowned. "Everything has a name, right?"

"I guess." Naruto leaned back on his elbows and gazed at the ceiling. "I wonder what the Kyūbi's name is."

"Dunno," Fū said after a moment. "And Chōmei says it isn't his place to tell."

"So the Nanabi can hear us right now?" Fū nodded. "That's kind of cool, I guess."

"I guess," Fū said with a shrug.

"Are you... friends with it?" Fū cocked her head to the side with a frown, and then shivered.

"Kind of? Chōmei says I'm basically like his…pet." Fū's face scrunched up in annoyance, and Naruto felt uncomfortable at the implication. "But he's the only one that's always been there, you know? Before I talked to him for the first time, I was all alone."

"I do know." Naruto thought back to before the academy. Before he drew attention to himself with his pranks and loud nature, he had always been simply ignored. Nobody would acknowledge him if they could help it, and they would be short with him whenever he asked questions. He had been like a ghost, unseen and forgotten.

Fū let out a hollow laugh. "You've got an entire team…"

"Not always," Naruto countered. "It took a long time to get people to acknowledge me, and a lot of people still don't. But the ones that have are precious to me, and I wouldn't trade them for the world." He grinned. "Besides, you're one of them now!" Fū's eyes widened for a moment before she turned away and wiped at her eyes. Naruto thought it would be best to draw attention to it.

"Was it worth all the…scorn?" She still had her back to him.

"Definitely," he said with conviction. She turned back to him, orange eyes bright with determination. It was a look he had not seen from her before, and Naruto thought it suited her really well.

"Thank you," she said, and Naruto could almost _feel_ the relief behind her tone. The moment was broken a few seconds later by a loud crash from another room.

"Nohara-san, you need to stay in bed!"

"Take me to my students or get the _hell _out of my way!" Naruto's eyes widened and he bolted to his feet. Sensei was awake!

He was out the door in a flash.

Rin-sensei was glaring down a team of ninja who looked like they wanted to be anywhere but in front of his teacher. She looked pale, and her ninja gear was nowhere to be seen, but otherwise looked to be alright.

"Sensei!" Her head snapped in his direction, and her entire body sagged in relief. Sensei shouldered through the Taki ninja and strode over to him before taking him up in a bear hug. She was holding him so tightly that he could barely breathe.

"Thank Kami you're alright," she breathed out and released him. She studied him up and down with a critical eye and gave a small nod. "I shouldn't be so surprised you don't look hurt." She said with an amused glint in her eye. It vanished a moment later when intense worry crept back onto her features. "Where are your teammates?"

"I-" Another door slid open, and both Ayano and Natsuko stepped into the room. Natsuko's arm was casted up and hung in a sling, and she had a slight limp, but otherwise looked fine. Ayano wore no shirt, and instead, her entire chest and torso was covered in bandages that seemed thicker along her back. He frowned, not remembering when the redhead had gotten hurt.

Sensei was over with them in the blink of an eye, and was hugging them to her chest with all her might. Naruto, with Fū trailing behind, made it across the room just as Sensei released the girls. Natsuko looked befuddled and cradled her closer to her chest, but her lips were turned up in a small grin. Ayano had a bright grin and brighter blush, and Naruto was sure he'd never seen her look so happy.

"I'm so glad you four are okay," Sensei said, sparing a small smile to an uncomfortable Fū. "And I know you're all very tired, but I need to know _exactly_ what happened after I was knocked out." Both Ayano and Natsuko looked at Naruto as if just realizing he was there, and both had hesitation and a bit of fear in their eyes. His cold fear returned like ice water through his veins.

"We already informed you of everything Nohara-san," one of the Taki ninja said with an impatient note in her voice. "And now that you can see that your students are fine, like we told you, you _need_ to return to your bed?" Rin-sensei clicked her tongue and her face hardened. She turned to the medical ninja with a glare that sent shivers down Naruto's spine.

"I _need _you to go and get Shibuki while I listen to my _genin_ students tell me how they had to fight a hostile _jōnin _without only one supporting ninja who was also just a genin." Rin-sensei's voice could make stone tremble, and the pale medical ninja rushed to obey. "And get our equipment as well!" She barked the order to the remaining team of Taki nin, who all ran out of the room

"Now," she turned back to them and her features softened. "How did you manage to beat Satoshi?" They were all silent for a minute before Ayano's hesitant voice began to explain…

* * *

"I see," Rin let out a long sigh and sank into a nearby couch as her genin's words sank in. Naruto looked downcast and angry at himself, Fū was stoic, and both Ayano and Natsuko simply looked cautious and tired. It was all a lot to process, but the overwhelming sensation from it all was shame. "I'm sorry." She locked eyes with each of her students and Fū in turn. "So, so sorry."

"Sensei?" Naruto questioned with his eyes full of worry. Rin felt a rush of compassion for the sweet, caring boy, followed immediately by a sense of anxious anticipation. How was she going to explain his status to the other two after they had experienced the unbridled killing intent of the Kyūbi? Both girls' guarded body language did not escape her.

"None of you should have been put in that situation." She gave an emphatic look to each of the four genin in turn to drive her point home. "We're all very lucky to be alive."

"I would do it again, dattebayo!" Naruto said, punching one hand with the other. "Anything to save a friend." The determination in his voice was palpable.

"Same here," Ayano's voice was more hesitant and she gave Naruto a wary look, but her conviction was there.

"As if it were a question," Natsuko said after a moment, her voice quiet and eyes downcast. Still, Rin could hear the seriousness in her claim. Fū was staring at the three of them with a slack jaw and watery eyes, and Rin smiled. She knew that Konoha's mindset was unique in the shinobi world, and it always pleased her to see it spread outside of the village. Even if was only one person.

"I know you would," she told them. "That's why I'm going to be damned sure you three will be ready to face _anything_ that comes your way." Her students looked at her with varying degrees of surprise and excitement on their faces. "Our training is going to get a _lot_ harder when we get back to the village. Think you all can handle that?"

The three glanced at each other, and nodded enthusiastically. Rin was happy to note that the awkward air seemed to have disappeared between the three. If only for a moment.

"Good," she said with a nod. She closed her eyes and sank further into the couch cushions. If she could not trust C-ranks to stay C-rank, then she would have to have her genin ready to handle B-ranks or higher. She began to craft hypothetical training plans for the three of them, and wondered if they would be able to handle the pace.

"Nohara-san! Good to see you up and around!" The four genin, who had started to whisper to each other, fell silent at Shibuki's amicable voice. Rin's eyes snapped open and she pulled herself to her full height. She set her jaw in a firm line, and turned to glower at the teenage leader.

Shibuki's cheerful expression dropped when they met eyes, and his adams apple moved up and down in a gulp of fear. Rin may have felt bad, but she was not in a mood to forgive the cowardly leader, despite his apparent help at the end. If he had stood his ground and called for aid, none of them would have been in that situation to begin with.

He waved a hand, and the two chūnin that were flanking him brought her team's supplies forward and set them on the ground in front of the genin, who immediately began to rifle through it. The two chūnin bowed, and left in a rush. Satoshi opened his mouth to speak, but Rin interrupted him before he could begin.

"Take me to Motoike Atsuo." She kept her tone calm, but clipped. As much as she wanted to rip into the man, Sarutobi-sama would frown on her causing another international incident.

Shibuki paled. "Er, well…I can't do that." Rin raised a single brow. Of all the things to challenge her on…

"He is a traitor to the Leaf, and will be brought back to Konoha to face charges. You have no right to refuse me custody." Shibuki rubbed the back of his neck, and everything about his body language shouted that he wanted to be anywhere but there.

"It's not that. You see, he's, well, dead." Rin blinked in surprise.

"Dead?" It was Naruto who spoke up, and his voice had gone up a couple of notches. She spared him a glance to see that he had gone pale as well. "We didn't hit him _that_ hard!" He shared a look with Fū, who only shrugged.

"No you didn't." Shibuki shook his head, his long hair swaying behind him, and sighed. "When he regained consciousness and realized he had been captured, well…" Rin pinched the bridge of her nose. Were they really this incompetent?

"You had a known, traitorous ninja in custody, you knew exactly who his master was, and you _let him commit suicide_!?" Her voice had lowered to a forceful whisper and she advanced on Shibuki, coming nose to nose with the shorter ninja. He backed away, panic lighting up in his dark eyes.

"He had a poisoned capsule in one of his teeth!" He defended himself and Rin scoffed. Even rookies in the Interrogation and Torture Department knew to look for that.

"I want his body sealed, and brought to me. Understand?" Her nose scrunched in disdain at how Shibuki flinched, but she forced her anger back. He turned to go fulfill her request, but she grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him back to face her. He whimpered and closed his eyes as if expecting a blow, and she shook her head.

"But first," she said, dropping him. He opened a single eye before blushing and straightening up. "You need to tell me everything about your deal with Orochimaru."

"There is nothing to tell!" He claimed, backing away from her. "He sent that _monster_ here with a message. Give him a sample of the Hero's Water, and be ready to make a move against Konoha when he called. He said that he would come and destroy the village himself if we didn't comply. You _know_ how strong he is. Even with the water, nobody here could take him on." Shibuki's voice had grown desperate at the end, and there were unshed tears in his eyes. "I had no choice!"

He was pleading with her, she realized. Practically begging her to absolve him of his guilt and wrongdoings. She shook her head, not willing to give him a break.

"You could have sent for aid." She kept her tone dead even, and Shibuki's entire demeanor deflated.

"I made the right choice in the end…" It was the last argument he had, and they both knew how weak it was.

"Only because one of your genin proved to have more wisdom than you." Shibuki flinched, and Rin knew the fight had gone out of him. "Now, I need _details_."

"I don't know any, I swear! Satoshi just said that I would know what I needed to know, _when_ I needed to know. That's it." Rin sighed, her gut telling her the coward was telling the truth.

"Hokage-sama will no doubt forgive Takigakure because of your change of heart, Shibuki." He perked up at that, a small glimmer of hope in his eyes. "But there will be consequences, and a price to be paid." He nodded, and stood back to his full height.

"But remember Shibuki, _I _will not forget. You can be sure of that." She let that sink in for a moment. "Now go bring me the traitor." Shibuki fled the room without further comment.

As soon as he was gone, Rin sighed. She wanted nothing more than to get back to Konoha, and _away_ from this entire mess. She faced the genin, amused to see that they were all looking at her with wide eyes. None of them had seen negotiations at work before, she assumed.

"Naruto, Ayano, Natsuko. You three gather your things and meet me outside. We're leaving this place as soon as possible." The trio nodded and hastened to obey her without complaint. The benefits of seeing her giving someone a verbal lashing, she mused. "Fū, stay a moment." The green haired girl had been about to follow the other three out, but stopped and stood rigid. Her students paused at the door, looking unsure, but one look from her had them bustling to leave the room.

"Y-yes?" The genin was facing away from her and every muscle in the girl's body was tense.

"I wanted to say thank you." Fū relaxed and turned around, a look of surprise in her orange eyes.

"What for?"

"You had the courage to do what the rest of your village did not. Without you, we probably would have never known about Orochimaru planning something against Konoha. You saved a lot of lives today." Fū gave a sheepish smile at the praise.

"In fact, because of everything you did, as well as some things I've noticed about your village, I have an offer for you." Curious orange eyes met hers. "I am going to make sure that the Hokage knows everything about your involvement today, and I know he'll agree to this if you want."

"Agree to what?"

"Come back to Konoha with us." Fū's eyes grew to the size of saucers. "He will offer asylum, and we can give you a good place to belong." Silence fell between them, and, for a long while, Fū stared down at her feet with her head turned slightly to the right.

"Naruto said that things weren't always easy for him in Konoha," Fū said at length.

"They weren't," Rin agreed, seeing no reason to lie. Naruto had been a loner from a young age, and a troublemaker as he grew older. Both she and Kakashi had been far too young to take in a child themselves, and the years just slipped away…

"But he also said it got better when he found people to care about." Fū took a deep breath, and raised her head to meet Rin's eyes. Determination, so familiar to Rin when looking into the eyes of any Konoha ninja, was burning in the girl's orange orbs. "I want to try and do that here. Despite everything, Taki is my home, and I…I think I can make it better."

Rin gave the girl an encouraging smile. "If anyone can, I know it will be you, Fū. Just remember, there will always be a place for you in Konoha. Don't ever hesitate to come to us for help." Fū nodded, and Rin was satisfied. "Now, I'm sure there are three genins listening at the door who are anxious to say goodbye…" There were muffled thuds from outside, and Rin chuckled, leading Fū to the rest of the children.

* * *

Natsuko sat shoulder to shoulder with Ayano on a log around their campfire. The other girl was the only one keeping her from keeling over, and she suspected the same could be said for the redhead, whose head kept drooping every few seconds.

Rin-sensei had set a breakneck pace as soon as they left Takigakure and made their goodbyes to Fū, but they had only managed to travel for two hours before their injuries caught up with them. The only one who was not even winded was Naruto, who sat across from her with his cerulean eyes locked on the ground.

Natsuko frowned, unsure how to feel about the blond. Even just thinking about the chakra from earlier made her flinch. Yet, Naruto had been mostly normal ever since he woke up, and Sensei did not see concerned. She had obviously known what had happened when Ayano told her about the fight, but Sensei did not _explain_, which left Natsuko both curious and apprehensive.

"Naruto." Sensei spoke up, breaking the silence that had fallen for the past few hours. "I think you should tell them." Natsuko felt Ayano sit at attention, and she sat up straighter as well.

"I…" Naruto's entire demeanor was somber.

"You knew you would have to eventually." Sensei's tone was gentle, but forceful. "It would be better to come from you."

"Is this about earlier?" Ayano asked, rolling her shoulders with a cringing wince. Natsuko had seen the burns, and was amazed her teammate could move at all…

Naruto looked guilt stricken. "I'm so sorry about that, Ayano! I wasn't…"

"What _was_ that, Naruto? A kekkei genkai?" Ayano's tone was neutral, but Natsuko spotted the hesitance in the redhead's green eyes.

"I…"

"That chakra was _awful_," Natsuko said with a shiver. "You weren't _you _anymore, Naruto. You were only hate. Hate and rage."

"That's because it wasn't me." Naruto declared. Natsuko scrunched up her face in thought, but nothing made sense.

"Naruto…" Sensei warned, and Naruto sighed.

"Well, it was, but it wasn't!"

"That doesn't make any sense, Naruto." Ayano was rubbing her temples as if to stave off a headache. "Just start at the beginning. Where did that power come from?" A long moment of silence stretched between them, and Naruto opened and closed his mouth several times before finally speaking.

"The Kyūbi." Natsuko blinked. That made even _less _sense, if that were possible.

"How could the power have been from the Kyūbi when it's dead?" Natsuko asked, and Naruto hung his head.

"You know that the Kyūbi attacked the village thirteen years ago…"

"Everyone knows that," Natsuko said.

"It's one of the first lessons at the academy. Yondaime-sama sacrificed himself to kill it." Ayano added, frowning.

"That's not what happened." Naruto's voice was a hoarse whisper, and he took a deep breath. "The Kyūbi can't actually die, so the Yondaime had to seal it away. The only way to seal a bijū is by sealing it into a person" He ran a hand through his hair and still would not meet their eyes. "The old man explained it better…"

"So…" Ayano said after a few moments of silence. A glance told Natsuko that the redhead had put the pieces together and she frowned in frustration. What was she missing? "The Yondaime sealed it into _you_?" Natsuko's hand shot to her mouth and she let out an audible gasp as the everything came together.

"That's _awful_!" She shouted, and Naruto flinched away as if struck. "Not _you_ Naruto," she backpedaled. "You couldn't have been more than a few months old! It's just not right to put a monster inside of a baby."

"I agree," Ayano nodded with a sigh.

"The Yondaime had his reasons, and if there were any other option, I'm sure he would have taken it," Sensei said with an uncomfortable grimace. Natsuko suspected she knew more, but felt it was not the time to ask. "Naruto is a jinchūriki, which is the term for shinobi with tailed beasts sealed within them. I want to be clear that Naruto is _not _the Kyūbi."

"I understand," Natsuko said, and she did. Everything she had ever learned about the Kyūbi matched up with the chakra that had knocked her out earlier. Naruto started to smile, and Natsuko could not help but to smile back at the blond. He was supposed to be the cheerful idiot, and depression just did not suit him.

"Fū is one too, isn't she?" Ayano asked, and Naruto's smile dropped. Natsuko turned to the girl next to her with a creased brow. The redhead was still stoic and staring at Naruto. "She had a crimson aura too." Natsuko tried to remember the feeling of Fū's chakra, but could be barely remember it. It had been _similar_, she thought, but there was nowhere near the amount of negative emotions etched into it.

"Yes," Naruto said, staring apprehensively at Ayano.

The redhead nodded slowly. "If she could control it, then you can learn to as well." Naruto looked to object, but Ayano continued before he could. "I forgive you," Ayano said with a smile. "But you have to _promise_ that you'll learn to control it so this won't happen again." She pointed to her bandages, and Naruto gave her a solemn nod.

"I promise, Ayano." Natsuko had never seen or heard Naruto be more serious than he was at that moment. Ayano nodded, looking satisfied.

"We should get some rest," Sensei said after a few moments of silence. "I want to make it to Konoha tomorrow, so we'll leave at first light." In a matter of moments, all of them had rolled out their sleeping mats and lied down. It did not take long for sleep to creep in on Natsuko.

"I'm proud of you three," she thought she heard, but sleep took her before she could think about it.

* * *

"I have returned, Orochimaru-sama." Satoshi said from a deep bow. His master stood above him, his ever-present right hand, Kabuto, beside him.

"Report, Satoshi-kun." Orochimaru-sama's friendly tone belied any true emotion the man was feeling, and Satoshi had long since learned to not try and guess his master's mood. He reached into his vest and produced the two vials of Hero's Water. He figured it would be better to start with the good news.

"Excellent!" Orochimaru said with his odd laughter. "Kabuto-kun," the Sannin said simply. The grey haired, bespectacled teen approached Satoshi and snatched the vials out of his hands.

"I'll begin running tests right away." The boy's smirk infuriated Satoshi, just like everything about him, but the man held his tongue. Kabuto was Orochimaru-sama's preferred servant, and so it was a deadly idea to speak against him.

"I have some bad news as well, Orochimaru-sama." Satoshi braced himself for the fallout, knowing it would not be pretty.

"Oh?" His lord's voice was light, curious, and belied the fury he could unleash.

"Motoike was found out, and Takigakure is no longer with us."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, my lord."

"It makes no difference." Satoshi blinked in surprise.

"My lord?"

"Atsuo-kun would have taken his medicine," Satoshi grimaced at the thought. "And Takigakure is weak." The man's long, snakelike tongue slipped out of his mouth and licked his lips. Satoshi suppressed the urge to shudder at the sight. "Kabuto-kun will see to the rest… You are dismissed, Satoshi-kun."

Satoshi bowed low, and raced out of the room, knowing better than to stick around longer than was necessary.

* * *

"It's good to be home!" Naruto shouted the words as they passed through the gates. The chūnin guards gave him bemused looks, but he ignored them. After last night, he was on top of the world. His team knew what he was, and still accepted them! Plus, he had met someone who was just like him. It was enough to make up for the hellish battle, that was for sure.

"Rough mission?" A lazy drawl came from above them, and jōnin and three genin leapt off a nearby roof to cut across their path. His one visible eye studied Naruto and his team with some concern. Ino, Sakura-chan, and Sasuke stood behind him, looking curious.

"Kakashi," was all Rin-sensei said, sounding tired. She placed a hand on both Ayano and Natsuko's shoulders. "We have to report to Hokage-sama."

"Of course," the silver haired jōnin said, still cheerful. Rin-sensei nodded and pushed the three of them ahead. "But you _did _promise that we'd do this as soon as you got back." Sensei paused, and Naruto was sure he could hear her counting to ten under her breath.

"I only promised to get you to let me leave on my mission." She told him, but Kakashi's eyes just closed in a smile. "A mission we have to report to the Hokage about."

"I understand," Kakashi said with a shrug. Sensei gave an annoyed nod before spinning on her heels and pushing them forward again. Naruto wanted to ask, but the irritation was coming off Sensei in waves, so he thought better of it. "If you're _afraid _to lose…"

"If you would notice, Kakashi," Sensei bit out. "They're not exactly in the best shape right now." She waved a hand over the injured Natsuko and Ayano.

"Naruto seems to be fine." Rin-sensei's left eye twitched, but Kakashi just looked nonchalant, slouching with his hands in his pockets. "And this won't take too long. They're only genin, after all." Naruto looked between his fellow genin, but each looked as clueless as he felt. Even Sasuke looked lost.

"Fine," Sensei finally said with a long suffering sigh. "One match, but _only_ one. Got it?" Kakashi nodded, eye crinkling as he smiled beneath his mask.

"And the wager?"

"I don't go back on my word."

"Can someone please tell us what's going on?" Sakura finally asked, sounding completely annoyed.

"Oh, Rin and I made a bet before she left on her mission," Kakashi explained.

"I think we got that part," Natsuko said, deadpan.

"It's a spar," Rin-sensei said with a sigh, and Naruto's annoyance was replaced with anticipation. He was the only one on his team able to fight right now, which meant…

"Yup!" Kakashi clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "To see who the better teacher is, we'll pit our cute little students against each other," he giggled, leaving the rest of them incredulous.

"Training ground twelve, five minutes." Rin-sensei said, and Kakashi nodded his agreement.

"Who will I be fighting?" Naruto asked, bouncing in anticipation. His eyes locked onto Sasuke with a grin, and the Uchiha gazed back at him with studying eyes.

"Sasuke," Kakashi said, and Naruto felt like cheering. Finally he would get a chance to see how far he had come.

"Get ready for me to kick your ass!" Naruto shouted at the boy. Sasuke's lips quirked in a half smirk.

"Big words, coming from the dead last." Naruto growled at the insult, but brushed it off. He would show the pretentious bastard when he kicked his ass.

This was going to be fun!

* * *

**A/N: Man, this one really went on longer than I expected. I thought I was almost done with it around ~5k words, but then the "jinchuriki reveal" scenes and the scene between Rin and Shibuki just ballooned. I'm actually really satisfied with how this chapter came out for a change, and hope you all liked it as well! The first arc is completed, but we'll have a bit of excitement back home between the Naruto/Sasuke fight and other things I have planned.**

**Orochimaru is now also in possession of a small amount of Taki's Hero Water. I wonder what he could want with that...  
**

**On a side note, there was a bit of controversy last update about Ayano's crush. One astute reviewer figured out that she had a crush on Rin, and another took offense to said fact. The issue was resolved amicably, but I wanted to make sure it wouldn't be a problem in the future. Yes, Ayano is gay, and no, this won't have an Ayano/Rin pairing. (Or any canon girl for that matter) Kids develop crushes on teachers sometimes. Perfectly normal, and it won't ever become the focus. It's just what happened when I drew her character up.  
**

**Hope that doesn't scare any of you away!**

**Another thing about parings, I'm leaning _heavily_ toward Naruto/Fu. I still want to try my hand at writing Ino's character before I decide, but I have a lot of fun writing Fu, so she's far and away the favorite right now. Others to be decided, feel free to offer suggestions!  
**

**Until next time, please give me some feedback, positive or otherwise!  
**

******(Quick sidenote, I've gone back and taken out the cliche "new clothes," scenes, as I don't feel like they fit with the tone of this story)**

* * *

**Justu List (In order by appearance)**

**Hiden: Doku no Kobura (Hidden Art: Cobra Poison)  
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**B-rank - Offensive Ninjutsu  
**

**Satoshi gathers up the poisonous chakra from his unique cursed seal and converts it into a corrosive, gooey, projectile. Will burn away anything it touches, as well as infect whatever it hits with a potent poison.  
**

**Hiden: Zenshin Mahi no Doku (Hidden Art: Poison of Full Body Paralysis)  
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**A-rank - Supplementary  
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**User converts their chakra into a poisonous fog. Anything that breathes in the fog that is not resistant will have all voluntary motor functions shut down. Target will be able to breathe, blink, and all of their organs will work, but they will be otherwise incapacitated. Must be resistant to poison before use, or user will be suffer the effects before the jutsu can be completed.  
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**Not many this week, hope you all enjoyed Satoshi's earth and poison style!  
**


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